Checkup

Making Rounds

Upcoming health seminars

Mayo Clinic Health Forum presents:

• Painful Bladder Syndrome and Incontinence
  with Dr. Anita Chen and Dr. Paul Pettit, Medical and Surgical Gynecology, Feb. 17, in Kinne Auditorium at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville
• Reducing Stroke Risk
  with Dr. W. Andrew Oldenburg, Vascular Surgery, Feb. 24, in the Grand Ballroom at the Casa Monica Hotel, St. Augustine, Florida

Programs begin at 7 p.m. Reservations: (904) 953-0770.

Promising Treatments for Multiple Myeloma

The combination of two pills — thalidomide and dexamethasone — may be an effective alternative to the intravenous chemotherapy commonly prescribed to patients with multiple myeloma, according to a large collaborative study conducted by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and led by a Mayo Clinic investigator. The fact that thalidomide — an old drug with a tragic past of causing birth defects — can slow the progression of recurrent multiple myeloma is not new. But results of recent studies show that thalidomide and its analog can be effectively combined with dexamethasone as the initial treatment for patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Mayo Clinic researchers also showed that using a new "cousin" of thalidomide may be more effective and safer in treating newly diagnosed myeloma. This analog of thalidomide is called CC-5013 (lenalidomide) and is not currently commercially available. It is believed that the drug will soon assume a leading role in the treatment of myeloma. More than 15,000 Americans are diagnosed annually with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the bone marrow.

Liver Transplant Hits Milestone

Right on the heels of completing its 1,000th liver transplant in October, the staff of the almost 7-year-old Mayo Clinic Jacksonville program reached another milestone in November. The team completed a record-high 27 liver transplants in one month. The previous record was 24. Mayo Jacksonville's liver transplant program is among the top five in the country and the largest in the Southeast based on annual number of transplants. The median waiting time to transplantation at Mayo Clinic is the shortest in the nation at just 1.7 months.

Rehab Improves Heart Attack Survival by 50%

Cardiac rehabilitation raises your chances of surviving at least three years after a heart attack by more than 50 percent, but only about half of the eligible patients participate, according to findings of a Mayo Clinic study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study also showed that women and elderly people are less likely to participate in rehab. The study analyzed 1,821 patients who had heart attacks between 1982 and 1998 and survived to go home from the hospital. It found that nearly half of the deaths within three years were attributed to skipping cardiac rehabilitation, a medically supervised exercise program that helps patients regain strength after a heart attack, bypass surgery or angioplasty. Researchers say they hope this study will encourage physicians to give all of their patients, especially women, that extra nudge to participate in rehab.

To request an appointment at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, call (904) 953-0853 or complete our online appointment request form: