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Beyond weight loss: Bariatric surgery may reduce cancer risk

When you think about obesity, you may not connect it to cancer. However, researchers long have suspected a link between certain cancers and weight. Among those are endometrial, ovarian, colon, liver, pancreatic and postmenopausal breast cancers, which together contribute to 15 to 20% of all cancer deaths in the U.S. Cancer risk increases with obesity More than one-third of adults in the U.S. are considered obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. BMI is the measure…

Electrospinning biotherapies of tomorrow

The future of healing disease may involve a syringe, a high voltage power supply and polymer solutions coming together to engineer tissue. Mayo Clinic researchers are studying these different elements now using an electrospinner, a device that whips biotherapeutic fibers into a scaffold — or platform — for spinning regenerative biotherapeutics. An electrospinner is almost like a medical spinning wheel or loom. An electrospinner unleashes electrical forces that churn chemical solutions into nano- or microscopic…

Ovarian cancer: New treatments and research

Editor's note: May 8 is World Ovarian Cancer Day. Three cancers — ovarian epithelial cancer, fallopian tube cancer and primary peritoneal cancer — are commonly called ovarian cancer. They arise from the same kind of tissue and are treated similarly. "The ovaries and fallopian tubes are so anatomically close to each other that we sometimes can't tell if the cancer is coming from the ovary or the fallopian tube," says S. John Weroha, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo…

Weight-loss surgery before kidney transplantation improves health and eligibility of patients with obesity and renal failure, Mayo Clinic study finds

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy promotes relatively rapid weight loss, reduces obesity-related health issues and improves eligibility for kidney transplantation for patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and obesity, according to new research from Mayo Clinic. Patients with advanced chronic kidney failure and severe obesity often are not considered for kidney transplantation, but according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, sleeve gastrectomy can improve high-risk patients meeting the criteria for transplantation. The…

Mayo Clinic researchers' new tool links Alzheimer's disease types to rate of cognitive decline

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a new scoring tool that links Alzheimer's disease subtypes with age of onset and the rate of cognitive decline in individuals.

AI may help predict risk of Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer

Editor's note: April is Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month. Esophageal cancer accounts for only about 1% of new cancer cases in the U.S., far lower than rates in other parts of the world. However, survival rates are low because it is often found at a later stage when symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, worsening heartburn, coughing and hoarseness have begun. Having precancerous changes in the cells of the esophagus, a condition called Barrett's esophagus is a risk factor for esophageal cancer. Barrett's…

Global consortium to study Pick's disease, rare form of early-onset dementia

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Pick's disease, a neurodegenerative disease of unknown genetic origin, is a rare type of frontotemporal dementia that affects people under the age of 65. The condition causes changes in personality, behavior and sometimes language impairment. In patients with the disease, tau proteins build up and form abnormal clumps called Pick bodies, which restrict nutrients to the brain and cause neurodegeneration. The only way to diagnose the disease is by looking at brain…

Mayo Clinic Minute: Treatment and research of glioblastoma

Considered the most aggressive type of brain cancer, glioblastoma grows rapidly, destroying healthy tissue. Globally, approximately 300,000 people are diagnosed each year with glioblastoma. Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute https://youtu.be/DP7p09z_mOY Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (1:05) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script. Glioblastoma is a type of cancer affecting glial cells, which connect nerve cells and support brain function. "It tends to be a…

New heated drug baths provide hope for patients with stomach cancer

Mayo Clinic researchers used a new approach to chemotherapy to more than double the typical survival rate for patients with stomach cancer and peritoneal metastasis, which is cancer that has spread to the lining of the abdominal cavity.

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