Author Archives: Joel Streed

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

December 9th, 2008 - 5:36 pm

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, … Continue reading →

By Joel Streed | Posted in Cancer, Research | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

September 24th, 2008 - 11:29 pm

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. … Continue reading →

By Joel Streed | Posted in Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery, Research | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (4)

Mayo Clinic Receives Grant to Study Deep Vein Thrombosis

September 24th, 2008 - 8:31 pm

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 … Continue reading →

By Joel Streed | Posted in Research | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Deep Brain Stimulation Sensor Measures Chemical Levels in the Brain

September 9th, 2008 - 8:46 pm

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 … Continue reading →

By Joel Streed | Posted in Neurology & Neurosurgery, Research | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (8)

Mayo Clinic Surgeons Propose Measures for Indicating Quality of Lung Surgery

September 9th, 2008 - 5:15 pm

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 … Continue reading →

By Joel Streed | Posted in Quality, Research | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

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

August 29th, 2008 - 1:06 pm

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 … Continue reading →

By Joel Streed | Posted in Research, Transplant | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (1)

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

August 12th, 2008 - 12:23 pm

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 … Continue reading →

By Joel Streed | Posted in Neurology & Neurosurgery, Research | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

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.

July 31st, 2008 - 10:27 pm

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 … Continue reading →

By Joel Streed | Posted in Events | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (1)

Mayo Clinic Finds Rates of Mild Cognitive Impairment Higher Than Expected

July 15th, 2008 - 5:47 pm

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 … Continue reading →

By Joel Streed | Posted in Neurology & Neurosurgery | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

New Mayo Clinic Computer Analysis Gives Alzheimer’s Disease Severity “Score”

July 15th, 2008 - 4:45 pm

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed an algorithm that extracts information on brain deterioration from three-dimensional MRI scans and assigns a severity score by comparing the scan to a large library of scans from patients with Alzheimer’s disease and patients who … Continue reading →

By Joel Streed | Posted in Neurology & Neurosurgery | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (3)