Research and expertise from Mayo Clinic have been in the news on topics from marijuana, sleep, disparities, dementia and doses of vaccine. Read more.

New York Times, Can Marijuana Make You a Better Athlete? 

… "If you look at any test of physical performance, there’s either no data, it’s a wash, or marijuana makes it worse," said Dr. Michael J. Joyner, an exercise physiologist and anesthesiologist who studies elite athletes at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Dr. Joyner said there might be some objective but minor physical benefit of cannabis in certain sports. …

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CNN, Just one night of sleep loss harms your well-being, new study finds 

… Dr. Bhanu Kolla, associate professor of psychiatry and psychology at the Mayo Clinic with a special interest in sleep, said the findings deepen our understanding of the adverse effects of sleep deprivation. He was not involved in the study. This study adds to what we already know, "which is (that) sleep is one of the pillars of good health, and paying attention to one’s sleep, giving ourselves enough opportunity to sleep, being aware that if you are sleep-deprived, you are going to feel poorly," Kolla said. "This is likely going to get worse the more sleep-deprived you are, therefore making sleep a priority."

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KAAL, Local experts weigh in on Pfizer's request for third dose

… "It isn't surprising at all that with increasing mutation, that we would see differences in performance of the vaccine," Dr. Greg Poland, the director of vaccine research at Mayo Clinic, said.  These new strains are a concern for people who aren't fully vaccinated. "People who got infected last year, will be at risk with these variants. People who got one dose will be at risk from these variants," Poland said.

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La Crosse Tribune, WATCH NOW: Mayo expert discusses dangers of teen drinking, prevention tips 

Dr. Tyler Oesterle, chemical dependency specialist with Mayo Clinic Health System and Mayo Clinic, says teen drinking is a serious problem, increasing risk of severe health problems, possibly affecting brain development, and potentially leading to death…"We know that addiction is often a developmental disorder," says Oesterle. "Most folks that develop a severe substance abuse disorder as an adult started when they were young and started with experimenting. ... They begin to use them more and more and it’s something their brain develops on," with substances becoming a source of stress relief, joy, and entertainment.

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International Travel & Health Insurance Journal, Mayo Clinic is number one smart hospital 

The Mayo Clinic in America has been named as the number one smart hospital for 2021 according to Newsweek. Highlighting those healthcare institutions that are recognised as the best in their field, the Newsweek accolades name the top 250 hospitals around the world and this time there’s a focus on those who are embracing technology – something that many have been forced to adapt sooner because of the pandemic.

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MedPage Today, Alzheimer's Aducanumab Prescribing Information Changes

 … "We as neurologists need a strategy to advise our patients in this unusual situation where the drug was approved without evidence of consistent clinical benefits," observed David Knopman, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and Joel Perlmutter, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, in another viewpoint essay published in Neurology on Wednesday.

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Medscape, AI-Driven ECG for COVID-19 Rule-Out Scores High in Tests, Has Mobile Potential 

There is something special about the electrocardiograms (ECG) of people hospitalized with COVID-19 that ECG-processing algorithms, developed using artificial intelligence (AI), can "recognize" well enough to discern when its absent, suggests a proof-of-concept study … The NPV exceeded 90% even in a cohort with a SARS-CoV-2 prevalence of 35%, suggesting the tool might reliably rule out the infection under real-world conditions even during a pandemic, conclude the report's authors, led by Zachi I. Attia, PhD, and Suraj Kapa, MD, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota.

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Pulmonology Advisor, Optimism and Caution Lead the Way in Stem Cell Therapy Research for COPD 

Researchers are currently exploring the use of stem cell therapies in a range of conditions including cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), among others. To date, however, these products have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only for use in certain cancers, hematological diseases, and immune system disorders.

… Currently, Jorge M. Mallea, MD, pulmonologist and critical care specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, is conducting a pilot study investigating the safety and feasibility of MSC treatment in patients with advanced COPD (Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Subjects with Advance Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease [COPD].

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Agence France Presse, Vaccination does not cause babies to die in their sleep 

Social media posts make a series of inaccurate claims linking childhood vaccination and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). But medical experts say vaccines do not cause babies to suddenly die, and that evidence indicates there are lower rates of SIDS in children who receive the recommended shots.

Dr Robert Jacobson, a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic, agreed. "If anything, we see lower rates of Sudden Infant Death among infants vaccinated than in infants who have foregone the vaccinations," he said.

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The Week, Remdesivir is not lifesaving, says Mayo Clinic disease specialist 

Interview/ Dr Priya Sampathkumar, infectious disease specialist, Mayo Clinic

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Star Tribune, Mayo Clinic licenses technology for vaccine development 

An Oklahoma company has licensed technology from Mayo Clinic that's meant to boost the protective capacity of new vaccines, including a COVID-19 vaccine that's being studied in Australia. Called a single-cycle adenovirus platform, the engineering process developed by Mayo amplifies the antigen protein that's delivered by a vaccine at the cellular level. The amplification should, in turn, intensify the protective immune response in vaccine recipients.

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Healthcare Business News, Mayo Clinic performs first cardiac scan with photon-counting CT 

… "Cardiac imaging is like taking a photograph of a bicycle rider going by and wanting to count the number of spokes in the wheel, but the spokes are blurred because they were moving. With the new system, we can capture a small fraction of one heartbeat, which freezes the motion," said Dr. Cynthia McCollough, director of Mayo Clinic's CT Clinical Innovation Center, in a statement.

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MedPage Today, NMOSD Tied to Insulin Resistance — New research into NMOSD, a rare, neurologic autoimmune disease, suggests an independent association between risk of NMOSD and insulin resistance. This may have implications for both the development of diabetes and the treatment of the underlying condition in NMOSD patients…"That suggests that these patients may be at higher risk of developing diabetes," says Eoin Flanagan, MB, BCh, a Mayo Clinic neurologist and NMOSD researcher. "I think we need to look closer at NMOSD patients and make sure that we’re not missing diabetes."

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Targeted Oncology, Novel Delivery Systems, Unique Pairings Explored With Oncolytic Viruses 

… "The OV delivers a 3-pronged attack through selective attack at the tumor sites, potent antitumor effects, and broad immune stimulation," Mitesh J. Borad, MD, a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, said in an interview with TargetedTherapies in Oncology (TTO).

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New York Times, A New Alzheimer’s Drug Offers More Questions Than Answers

… At the Mayo Clinic, said Dr. Ronald Petersen, a neurologist who directs the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center there, "we’re going to stick pretty close to the inclusion and exclusion criteria used in the trial." That means only patients with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease would qualify, after an M.R.I. to rule out certain conditions and risks, and a P.E.T. scan or lumbar puncture to confirm the presence of amyloid. The Mayo protocols, like the clinical trials, would exclude people taking blood thinners like Warfarin or Eliquis. "It’s not like you come in and say, ‘I’m a little forgetful,’ and we say, ‘Here’s this drug,’" said Dr. Petersen. But not every provider, he acknowledged, will employ such safeguards.

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Post-Bulletin, Mayo Clinic COVID-19 vaccine platform enters clinical trials

A new COVID-19 vaccine platform developed by Mayo Clinic researchers is entering phase one of clinical trials. If it reaches the market, the single-cycle novel vaccine vector is expected to produce a greater immune response and a more effective barrier against COVID-19 than current vaccine options, according to Dr. Michael Barry, director of Mayo Clinic's Vector and Vaccine Engineering Laboratory. For the needle-phobic, there is especially good news: the vaccine would likely be delivered through a nasal mist…

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Neurology Today, No Significant Differences in Outcomes Between Endovascular Treatment and Medical Care for Basilar Artery Occlusion 

Endovascular therapy was not more effective than standard medical care for basilar artery occlusion, a type of posterior circulation stroke. Experts noted, however, that basilar artery occlusion can mimic nonstroke conditions and is difficult to diagnose. Therefore, it may be more challenging to diagnose it in a timely fashion to benefit from EVT.

… Alejandro A. Rabinstein, MD, FAAN, a neurointensivist at the Mayo Clinic at Rochester, MN, observed that "this is the first sizable randomized-controlled trial specifically focused on testing the value of endovascular therapy in patients with basilar-artery occlusion," and that "patients with basilar-artery occlusion have strokes with much higher mortality rates than those with anterior circulation occlusions as evidenced by the finding that four in 10 patients enrolled in this trial had a fatal outcome."

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Washington Post, Parkinson’s strikes more men than women. Researchers have worked for decades to learn why. 

Nearly 1 million Americans are living with Parkinson’s, and about 60,000 new cases are diagnosed annually, according to the foundation. Moreover, research indicates the incidence of Parkinson’s has been rising in recent years among both sexes, but more so among men, according to Rodolfo Savica, associate professor of neurology and epidemiology at Mayo Clinic. "Thirty years of observation showed an increasing number of cases, valid for both men and women, but much more evident in men," Savica says of his study…

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NBC News, They didn't want to get Covid-19 shots. This is what convinced them. 

From encouragement from family to fears over new variants, this is what swayed vaccine holdouts.

… Experts say convincing those on the fence comes down to helping them understand what is at stake. "The risk-benefit balance that most people look at is between getting vaccine and not getting vaccine, and I think that’s not quite the right way to frame this," said Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at Mayo Clinic. "We should be thinking of this as getting vaccine versus getting Covid-19."

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Gulf Today, Robotic surgery helps treat spinal cord woes, says expert

Neurosurgeon Dr. Mohamad Bydon of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota (USA), a participant online lecturer/panellist at the June 21 to 24 "Arab Health 2021" was email interviewed and shared four benefits of robotic surgery, leading not only to decrease healthcare spend and hospitalisation stay but, most importantly, allowing patients, their families and other support individuals enjoy quality of life.

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Action News Jax, Mayo Clinic: heart inflammation in younger men following COVID-19 vaccinations are rare 

As more and more people receive the Covid-19 vaccine doctors are now studying the potential side effects. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville at looking at two studies where patients developed myocarditis or inflammation of the heart muscle after getting a Covid-19 vaccine. "What we found is that it was particularly common in young men between the ages of 18 to 30 after the second vaccine," Dr. Leslie Cooper the chair of the department of cardiovascular medicine said.

Related article: WKBT La Crosse, Health officials clear up confusion on COVID-19 vaccine 

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Health IT Analytics, Mayo Clinic Uses Genomics to Understand Neurodevelopmental Disorders 

Using genomics, Mayo Clinic uncovered genetic variants in the gene SPTBN1 are responsible for neurodevelopmental disorders.

... "The gene can now be included in genetic testing for people suspected of having a neurodevelopmental disorder, which may end the diagnostic odyssey these people and their families have endured," Margot Cousin, PhD, a translational genomics researcher in Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine and the study's lead author, said in a press release.

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Yahoo! News, Mayo Clinic COVID-19 vaccine platform enters clinical trials

A new COVID-19 vaccine platform developed by Mayo Clinic researchers is entering phase one of clinical trials. If it reaches the market, the single-cycle novel vaccine vector is expected to produce a greater immune response and a more effective barrier against COVID-19 than current vaccine options, according to Dr. Michael Barry, director of Mayo Clinic's Vector and Vaccine Engineering Laboratory. For the needle-phobic, there is especially good news: the vaccine would likely be delivered through a nasal mist.

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KARE 11, Mayo's brain rehab now helping post-COVID patients 

… Mayo's COVID Activity Rehabilitation Program (CARP) treats post-COVID patients, sometimes referred to as COVID-19 "long-haulers." They are people who have lingering symptoms for months. According to Mayo Clinic, about 45% of its CARP patients experience brain fog.

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K-102 Radio, Mayo Clinic In FL Says Breast Cancer Vaccine Could Be Available In 8 Years 

… The researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Florida have developed an immunotherapy treatment that will train your immune system to recognize and kill breast cancer cells! The results are based on early-stage clinical trials, and the vaccine seems to have successfully removed cancer cells in one patient, and another is showing positive results!

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Diagnostics World, A Glimpse Into the Future Of Infectious Disease Diagnostics 

A "silver lining" of COVID-19 is that it has ushered in a new era of diagnostic innovation within test manufacturing facilities and clinical and public health laboratories, producing in 18 months what would be a decade’s worth of progress in non-pandemic times, according to Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic with multiple appointments in the department of laboratory medicine and pathology.

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OncLive,  ASCO 2021 Brings Increasing Recognition of Health Disparities in Cancer Care

Several studies presented during the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting highlighted the severity of racial and ethnic disparities that exist in the treatment of patients with cancer, ranging from clinical trial enrollment to routine care visits, according to Alyx B. Porter, MD, FAAN…

"The continued lack of diversity among enrollees may further widen the gap of disparity among diverse populations in the era of precision medicine," said Porter, a neuro-oncologist and an associate professor at Mayo Clinic, in a virtual presentation during the 2021 ASCO Direct Highlights webcast in Dallas, Texas.

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Neurology Today, Dementia Experts on Why the FDA Approval of Aducanumab for Alzheimer's Gets Mixed Grades The FDA approval of the monoclonal antibody, aducanumab, for Alzheimer's disease has drawn controversy and resignations of the FDA advisory panel, which initially recommended not to approve the drug. The committee had cited the paucity of data to show the clinical benefit of the drug.

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Tags: addiction research, alcoholism, Alejandro Rabinstein, Alyx Porter, Alzheimer's disease, artificial intelligence, autoimmune disorder, Bhanu Kolla, breast cancer, cancer vaccine, cardiology, Center for Individualized Medicine, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, clinical research, clinical trials, cognitive impairment, COPD, COVID-19, Cynthia McCollough, David Knopman, dementia, developmental disorder, diabetes, electrocardiogram, Eoin Flanagan, exercise, genomics, health disparities, health technology, infectious disease, inflammation, Itzhak Zachi Attia, Jorge Mallea, Margot Cousin, marijuana, Matthew Binnicker, medical innovation, Michael Barry, Michael Joyner, Mitesh Borad, Mohamad Bydon, myocarditis, News, News of the Week, Nipunie Rajapakse, Parkinson's disease, physiology, Priya Sampathkumar, Robert Jacobson, robotic technology, Rodolfo Savica, Ronald Petersen, sleep medicine, spinal cord injury, stem cell therapy, Suraj Kapa, Tyler Oesterle, vaccine hesitancy, vaccines, virology, virotherapy