Next-generation biomaterial being developed to treat bleeding

Phoenix, Arizona - Researchers at Mayo Clinic, Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing a biomaterial that has potential to protect patients at high risk for bleeding in surgery.

Eyes gone bad

Rochester, Minnesota - The eye’s outermost tissue, the cornea, is a bit more substantial than you might imagine. It’s made up of lots of types of cells and structural proteins, arranged in highly organized layers. At about 560 µm (1/45 of an inch), the cornea is transparent, but about as thick and bendy as a credit card. For clear vision, it must be free of cloudy areas, but disorders can roll over it like a storm - the most common being an inherited, degenerative disease called Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy. Fuchs’ (pronounced “fooks”) affects almost five percent of middle-aged patients with some variance across ethnicities.

Consumer Health Tips: Easing Teething Pain

Yuma, Arizona - Drooling, crankiness and tears can make teething an ordeal for parents and babies alike. Here's help easing the pain - for both of you.

Why some rheumatoid arthritis patients respond poorly to biologics

San Francisco, California - A Mayo Clinic study is shedding light on why some rheumatoid arthritis patients respond poorly when treated with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, part of a class of drugs call biologics. It comes down to proteins: specifically, a protein in the body that drives inflammation in the disease, the research found. The discovery is an important step toward better personalizing rheumatoid arthritis treatment, helping to avoid trial and error when prescribing medications. The findings were presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting in San Francisco.

Parkinson's Disease: A progressive nervous system disorder

Scottsdale, Arizona - The first female U.S. attorney general, Janet Reno, died on Monday, November 7, from complications related to Parkinson’s disease. She was 78 years old and had lived with the diagnosis since 1995.