With the New Year approaching, many people include physical fitness goals and enhanced well-being as part of their resolutions. Now, researchers are finding that these improvements also can lead to an increase in longevity.
November is C. diff awareness month, a time to focus on raising awareness about the prevention and treatment of Clostridium Difficile Infections. Mayo Clinic experts are available for interviews.
A new article in Mayo Clinic Proceedings reviews options for women going through genitourinary syndrome of menopause – an encompassing term for vaginal dryness, itching, dyspareunia and urinary tract infections brought on by low estrogen levels after menopause.
A phase 3 trial studying the effects of tolvaptan has found that the drug slowed the rate of decline in kidney function in patients with the most common form of polycystic kidney disease, a condition with no cure.
There continues to be a lot of discussion about concussions. How much do people really know about how to spot a concussion? What should be done about a concussion? And how are they treated? Many people don’t know how a concussion is caused.
Modern lifestyle factors, such as texting, reaching for your keyboard or wearing high heels, can create postural stressors that often cause muscle imbalances and injury. Having good posture is essential for good health; however, understanding what good posture is and maintaining it are hard.
When people think of kids and trauma, they often think about car accidents. “However, in reality, falls are the leading cause of childhood injury and most of them happen around the home,” says Christopher Moir, M.D., pediatric surgeon at Mayo Clinic Children Center, who has cared for a wide variety of injuries related to falls.
Mayo Clinic researchers have identified five sub-categories of obesity in an effort to determine the most effective, individual treatments.
Mayo Clinic expert Jani Jensen, M.D. is available to talk about the latest research and provide expert guidance for reporters writing articles on women’s health and fertility and conception.
Jamie Bakkum-Gamez, M.D., an oncologist and gynecologic surgeon, is available to provide context for reporters wishing to better understand preventive surgery for gynecologic cancers in light of Angelina Jolie’s announcement that she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as a cancer prevention strategy.
If you haven’t already experienced telemedicine, you may soon have the option. Technology is helping people connect with their physicians in new ways and from a distance, and interest is growing in updating state and federal policies to help make telemedicine available to more patients.
Summer travel isn’t for vacation alone. For some people, it may include a trip to an out-of-town hospital for surgery. If you are traveling for chest surgery, you may wonder whether it is safer to return home by car or plane. A new Mayo Clinic study found that, contrary to conventional wisdom, air travel is just as safe as ground travel after chest surgery, and there is often no reason to wait for weeks after an operation to fly home. Lead study author Stephen Cassivi, M.D. , a Mayo Clinic thoracic surgeon, offers these five tips for safer, more comfortable travel home after surgery:
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.
Not only is heroin addictive and deadly, its use is increasing among Americans. That disturbing trend parallels the spike of opioid based prescription painkiller abuse in recent years, say Mayo Clinic experts.
Traveling long distances during the holidays -- whether by car, plane or train -- is a common custom for many Americans, but taking health precautions for the journey isn’t often at the top of to-do lists. Taking some simple steps to stay healthy while traveling can make the holidays more enjoyable and safe, according to a Mayo Clinic expert.
People with epilepsy may have a new high-tech way to manage hard-to-control seizures. A new implantable medical device that delivers responsive neurostimulation has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The technology is designed to detect abnormal activity in the brain and respond and deliver subtle levels of electrical stimulation to normalize brain activity before an individual experiences seizures. The treatment is available at all Mayo Clinic sites.
Most everyone is bound to get osteoarthritis -- if they live long enough. That old saying among arthritis experts is backed up by the numbers. The painful and often debilitating joint condition is the most common form of arthritis.
As few as 3 percent of Americans eligible to donate blood do, and fear and anxiety are common reasons why many decline to give. U.S. hospitals are always in need of new donors; at Mayo Clinic, that need is heightened by concern about iron deficiency in frequent givers.
Michael J. Fox is back in the spotlight this fall in a new sitcom “The Michael J. Fox Show” and spreading awareness about Parkinson’s disease, a condition both he and his TV character have in common. Fox has been an outspoken advocate for Parkinson’s disease research and awareness since disclosing his condition to the public in 1998.
Over the next few weeks, students will be returning to their classrooms for another school year. This can be a hectic time for students and parents: The to-do list may include health checkups, getting children into a sleep routine, planning healthy lunches or preparing students facing major transitions into a new grade or school. Mayo Clinic experts offer these tips on how to make the transition back to school less stressful.
The next flu shot season will include several new vaccine options for consumers, Mayo Clinic vaccine expert Gregory Poland, M.D., says. Fearful of needles? There’s now an influenza vaccination just for you. Allergic to eggs? It won’t stop you from getting a flu shot. The new choices move influenza vaccinations closer to the personalized approach long sought by immunologists including Dr. Poland, but they may also prove bewildering to patients, he says.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators have issued a warning on the blood pressure drug known generically as olmesartan medoxomil.
Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24. If parents are worried their child may be having suicidal thoughts, it’s no time to tiptoe around the question, according to Mayo Clinic experts who have produced two educational videos on suicide prevention for use by media outlets, schools and others. Instead, be direct and ask, the physicians advise, and if the answer is yes, do not try to downplay or dismiss the child’s feelings. Seek professional assistance immediately.
It seems you can’t go anywhere these days without hearing “the flu this” or “the flu that.” Unfortunately, this season’s influenza outbreak is one of the worst in years. And it’s not just the flu virus that’s causing problems; there are also many myths about the flu that are keeping people from doing more to prevent it.
Children are bound to come down with the occasional cold or other viral illness, especially when cold weather keeps a whole class cooped up inside all day. Whether or not to keep your sick child home from school or daycare can be a difficult decision to make, and may also depend on your child’s school or daycare policies.
For people with multiple sclerosis — as many as 350,000 Americans, and an estimated 200 new diagnoses every week — managing the debilitating symptoms can be an arduous process. A range of medications are available to help with the fluctuating neurological symptoms such as numbness, lack of balance, muscle spasticity, pain, and fatigue that get in the way of everyday life. But even while addressing the symptoms, people with MS should get appropriate care for other health needs.
As winter begins, temperatures drop and hours of daylight fade, it’s not uncommon for people to begin feeling sluggish, moody or stuck in a funk. Those symptoms are typical of someone experiencing seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, a type of depression that typically occurs during the winter. As many as 1 in 5 Americans have SAD, and 75 percent are women, according to the American Psychiatric Association.
Next week, more than 1,200 people from 25 countries are expected to attend the 8th Annual World Stem Cell Summit in West Palm Beach, Fla., a gathering co-sponsored by Mayo Clinic. As those close to the science explore potential stem cell applications, many patients have questions about what stem cells are and how they are being used. Timothy Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., director of Mayo Clinic’s Regenerative Medicine Consult Service, answers some of the most commonly asked questions about stem cells.
Many women who have been through pregnancy are familiar with low back pain. For some, that pain can last after childbirth and be severe enough to require physical therapy. One tool Mayo Clinic physical therapists use frequently with postpartum patients is rehabilitative ultrasound imaging (RUSI). The technology, which is safe and radiation-free, allows a patient to look at a screen and see her abdominal muscles during a physical therapy workout.
Physical and mental decline are common side effects of hospital stays, particularly among older patients. That can hold true even if someone is hospitalized for just a day or two for a common procedure such as knee replacement surgery.
Errant gunshots are an obvious health risk during fall hunting season, but a range of other dangers also can send hunters to the hospital or worse: heart attacks, injured backs and broken bones are among the most common medical emergencies.
Sept. 23-29 is the International Week of the Deaf.
Big changes are coming to the medical evaluations required for many commercial driver’s license holders, including truckers and bus drivers. Under new federal requirements, the medical examinations will only count if they are performed by a health care provider specially trained and certified to do so.
Bullying was once considered a childhood rite of passage. Today, however, bullying is recognized as a serious problem. Up to half of all children are bullied at some point during their school years, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. And thanks to tech-savvy kids, cyberbullying and other forms of electronic harassment are now commonplace.
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Assessing risk, drug resistance and coping with a cancer diagnosis are some of the issues women may face. Mayo Clinic Cancer Center experts are available to discuss those and other topics.
It’s state fair time in much of the country, and that means plenty of intriguing people watching, enjoying amusement rides, games and live music and, in nearly every scenario, eating a hearty amount of less-than-healthy food.
With the fall sports season getting under way, Mayo Clinic experts are available to discuss the full range of athletic injuries. Common football, soccer and other falls sports injuries include concussions, stingers, MCL and ACL sprains/tears, meniscus tears, hip pointers, hamstring pulls, muscle contusions and ankle sprains.
Summer can mean more than just an increase in temperatures, humidity and outdoor physical activity. It can also mean an increased risk of kidney stones, which affect approximately 3.8 million people in the United States and are on the rise.
Massive crowds from around the globe will mingle in London during the Olympics, and that means a world-class array of germs will mix with them. Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert Gregory Poland, M.D., offers several tips for avoiding illness when you are around lots of people, whether at the Olympics, a professional football game, convention, arena concert or other major event.
Mayo Clinic experts are available to offer comment throughout the Olympics and Paralympic Games on everything from the physiology and psychology of competitive athletes to injuries they may be coping with and controversies such as gender testing and doping.
People across the country are experiencing sweltering weather with temperatures and the heat index reaching well into the 100-degree range. While many will take refuge in air-conditioned homes or at a local lake or pool, it’s important to remember that the heat can be much more than bothersome. It can put your health at risk and even prove life threatening.
With the hot, muggy summer season arriving, kids will be heading to the pool to cool off. While swimming is refreshing, fun and good exercise, even chlorinated pools contain many germs that can make them ill.
Mayo Clinic urologists recommend a personalized approach to determining whether or not a patient should consider PSA screening for prostate cancer.
Just the idea of performing CPR can intimidate the average person, whether it’s the thought of what’s at stake or simply trying to remember all of the steps. A move to simplify cardiopulmonary resuscitation practices for the public is one of many advances important to highlight during CPR Awareness Month, says Mayo Clinic resuscitation expert Roger White, M.D.
With the 2012 Summer Olympics fast approaching, two Mayo Clinic researchers have penned a timely and thought-provoking editorial in the June issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings that explores genetic variation and how it plays out in professional athletic competition.
With severe weather season now in full swing, people with disabilities must ensure they can quickly escape their homes in an emergency.
Mayo Clinic’s Mount Everest expedition is exploring heart problems, sleep apnea, muscle wasting, calorie burning and other health issues faced by patients and high-altitude climbers alike.
May is Arthritis Action Month, held to draw attention to the more than 100 forms of arthritis that afflict at least 50 million people in the United States and collectively cost more to treat than cancer.
Parents are often the first to notice when their otherwise healthy infant slowly begins to develop a lopsided skull.
Spring has only just arrived, but tick season is well under way. Physicians are seeing new cases of tick-borne illness several weeks earlier than usual, likely because a mild winter in much of the country made life easier for ticks and their offspring.
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