Imaging News and Research

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Percutaneous mitral valve repair

The scope of percutaneous cardiac therapy has expanded from percutaneous coronary and peripheral intervention to percutaneous valve intervention, first used in the mid eighties.

1 Sep 2008

Transapical aortic valve implantation

Transapical aortic valve implantation (TA-AVI) is a new therapeutic strategy, which has been implemented successfully into clinical practice in several hundred patients suffering symptomatic aortic stenosis and an increase perioperative risk during the past two years. The Edwards SAPIEN prosthesis has been used.

1 Sep 2008

Cardiac ultrasound imaging goes handheld

Non-invasive imaging has revolutionized the diagnosis of the most common cardiac diseases such as valve problems and coronary heart disease. In addition, imaging techniques are developing rapidly and we anticipate that non-invasive imaging will gain further importance in the treatment of cardiac patients.

31 Aug 2008

Computed tomography provides anatomy - we need ischemia!

Cardiac computed tomography has revolutionized cardiac imaging in recent years by providing exquisitely detailed cardiac anatomy, including, but not limited to, coronary anatomy.

31 Aug 2008

New molecular imaging techniques aim at detection of earliest steps of disease development

An emerging discipline of noninvasive cardiac imaging, molecular imaging, has evolved constantly in the last few years and is increasingly being translated from the preclinical to the clinical level.

31 Aug 2008

Ongoing debate: The future of non-invasive cardiac imaging

Imaging has gained attention in many areas of medicine but its relevance and importance in clinical cardiology cannot be underestimated.

31 Aug 2008

Endoscopic ultrasound 99.1 percent accurate in diagnosing pancreatic neoplasms

Researchers from St. Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri report that EUS and EUS-FNA is 99.1 percent accurate in diagnosing pancreatic neoplasms (abnormal growths or tumors) in patients who were referred for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) because of CT and/or MRI reports of two common, though somewhat ambiguous findings - enlargement of head of pancreas (HOP) or dilation of the pancreatic duct (PD).

27 Aug 2008

UT Southwestern discovery may lead to new drug-abuse treatments

Increased connections among brain cells caused by excessive drug use may represent the body's defense mechanism to combat addiction and related behaviors, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

27 Aug 2008

Stanford Medical School severely restricts industry funding of continuing education for physicians

The Stanford University School of Medicine will no longer accept support from pharmaceutical or device companies for specific programs in continuing medical education, as industry-directed funding may compromise the integrity of these education programs for practicing physicians, officials said.

26 Aug 2008

How memory deals with a change in plans

You're about to leave work at the end of the day when your cell phone rings: it's your spouse, asking that you pick up a gallon of milk on the way home. Before you head out the door, though, your spouse calls again and asks you to stop by the hardware store too. Based on your knowledge of the area and rush-hour traffic, you decide to get the milk first and the toilet plunger second. But whoops! The phone rings again. This time, it's your boss, asking you to work late. That means another change of plans.

25 Aug 2008

Brain study could lead to new understanding of depression

Brain scientists have moved a step closer to understanding why some people may be more prone to depression than others.

From The University of Manchester 24 Aug 2008

Researchers discover key details of how rheumatoid arthritis destroys bone

Researchers have discovered key details of how rheumatoid arthritis (RA) destroys bone, according to a study published in the Aug. 22 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The findings are already guiding attempts to design new drugs to reverse RA-related bone loss and may also address more common forms of osteoporosis with a few adjustments.

24 Aug 2008

Novel imaging reagents and technology that non-invasively locates, quantifies specific cells in the body

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) isn't just for capturing detailed images of the body's anatomy. Thanks to novel imaging reagents and technology developed by Carnegie Mellon University scientist Eric Ahrens, MRI can be used to visualize - with "exquisite" specificity - cell populations of interest in the living body. The ability to non-invasively locate and track cells, such as immune cells, will greatly aid the study and treatment of cancer, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases, as well as provide a tool for advancing clinical translation of the emerging field of cellular regenerative medicine, by tracking stem cells for example.

21 Aug 2008

New imaging technology provides early diagnosis of osteoarthritis

A newly developed medical imaging technology may provide doctors with a long-awaited test for early diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA), scientists from New York reported today at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

20 Aug 2008

New discovery on how rheumatoid arthritis destroys bone

20 Aug 2008

Addiction drug Vigabatrin proves successful in animal weight loss study

Vigabatrin, a medication proposed as a potential treatment for drug addiction by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, also leads to rapid weight loss and reduced food intake according to a new animal study from the same research group.

20 Aug 2008

Ultrasound imaging predicts heart attack risk

Repeat exams using widely available and inexpensive ultrasound imaging could help identify patients at high risk for a heart attack or other adverse cardiovascular events, according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Radiology.

19 Aug 2008

One night without sleep increases chemical dopamine in the human brain

Because drugs that increase dopamine, like amphetamines, promote wakefulness, the findings offer a potential mechanism explaining how the brain helps people stay awake despite the urge to sleep. However, the study also shows that the increase in dopamine cannot compensate for the cognitive deficits caused by sleep deprivation.

19 Aug 2008

Dual-mode nanoparticles image tumors using MRI and PET

Medical imaging represents one of the most used and useful procedures in the oncologist's diagnostic toolkit, even though each of the most useful techniques-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography x-ray imaging (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET) scanning-has its own set of limitations.

17 Aug 2008

Researchers find Leishmaniasis parasites evade death by exploiting the immune response to sand fly bites

Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a disease characterized by painful skin ulcers, occurs when the parasite Leishmania major, or a related species, is transmitted to a mammalian host by the bite of an infected sand fly.

14 Aug 2008