Magnetic Resonance Imaging News and Research

RSS

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an imaging technique which physicians use for the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions.

Penn neurologist develops new approach for brain activity study

By combining sophisticated mathematical techniques more commonly used by spies instead of scientists with the power and versatility of functional magnetic resonance imaging, a Penn neurologist has developed a new approach for studying the inner workings of the brain.

29 Mar 2011

Review questions diagnostic value of MRI scans to detect rupture of silicone breast implants

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently recommends regular follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans for women with silicone breast implants. But a new review shows significant flaws in the evidence supporting this recommendation, reports the March issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

28 Mar 2011

GE launches new specialty musculoskeletal MR scanner

GE today announced the launch of the Optima MR430s, a new specialty scanner with breakthrough technology that delivers precise imaging with exceptional comfort and the 1.5T image quality radiologists require.

28 Mar 2011

Study: Surgeon enthusiasm linked to high spinal procedure rates

Surgeons in some areas are more likely to recommend surgery for low back problems—and those differences in "surgeon enthusiasm" are a major factor driving regional variations in spinal surgery rates, suggests a study in the March 14 issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

25 Mar 2011

Brain's pleasure and reward circuitry gets a big boost after a sleepless night

A sleepless night can make us cranky and moody. But a lesser known side effect of sleep deprivation is short-term euphoria, which can potentially lead to poor judgment and addictive behavior, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley.

24 Mar 2011

New research on brain plasticity may delay onset of Alzheimer's disease

The human brain loses 5 to 10% of its weight between the ages of 20 and 90 years old. While some cells are lost, the brain is equipped with two compensatory mechanisms: plasticity and redundancy.

23 Mar 2011

Mayo Clinic receives $1 million gift for Lewy body dementia study

To help continue its internationally recognized work in Lewy body dementia, the Harry T. Mangurian, Jr., Foundation has awarded Mayo Clinic a $1 million gift, pledged over four years. Lewy body dementia, which combines aspects of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, is the second most common form of dementia in the United States.

23 Mar 2011

Larger hippocampal volume linked with recovery of PTSD

The hippocampus, a brain region implicated in memory and interpreting environmental contexts, has been the focus of a controversy in posttraumatic stress disorder.

22 Mar 2011

KYTHERA presents additional data from third ATX-101 Phase II clinical study in submental fat reduction

KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today presented additional efficacy data from a third Phase II clinical study with ATX-101, a first-in-class adipolytic agent that is under investigation for the reduction of submental ('under the chin') fat. The expanded analysis focused on additional patient reported outcome measures, including instruments measuring submental fat impact, subject global assessments and subject self-ratings of chin attractiveness.

18 Mar 2011

Anti-cancer drug loaded microcarriers successfully guided to targeted area in the liver

Soon, drug delivery that precisely targets cancerous cells without exposing the healthy surrounding tissue to the medication's toxic effects will no longer be an oncologist's dream but a medical reality, thanks to the work of Professor Sylvain Martel, Director of the Nanorobotics Laboratory at Polytechnique Montr-al.

16 Mar 2011

Gadavist approved by FDA for use in central nervous system MRI scans

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gadavist (gadobutrol), a gadolinium-based contrast agent, for use in patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the central nervous system.

16 Mar 2011

Bayer receives FDA approval for Gadavist Injection

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Gadavist Injection, a macrocyclic gadolinium-based contrast agent, for intravenous use in diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging in adults and children to detect and visualize areas with disrupted blood brain barrier and/or abnormal vascularity of the central nervous system.

14 Mar 2011

Repligen reports positive results from RG1068 Phase 3 study to improve MRI of the pancreas

Repligen Corporation reported today positive top-line results from a Phase 3 study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of RG1068, synthetic human secretin, to improve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pancreas in patients with pancreatic disease using endoscopy (ERCP) as a diagnostic reference.

14 Mar 2011

New study reveals brain networks are involved in 'cross-modal' person recognition

Human social interactions are shaped by our ability to recognise people. Faces and voices are known to be some of the key features that enable us to identify individual people, and they are rich in information such as gender, age, and body size, that lead to a unique identity for a person.

11 Mar 2011

International panel revises, simplifies 'McDonald Criteria' for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis

International Panel Revises "McDonald Criteria" for Diagnosing MS -- Use of new data should speed diagnosis -- Publication coincides with MS Awareness Week

10 Mar 2011

Certain patterns of brain activity allow 'seeing' two colours at the same time

The Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman once wrote in his autobiographical book (What do you care what other people think?): "When I see equations, I see letters in colors - I don't know why […] And I wonder what the hell it must look like to the students."

10 Mar 2011

Text messaging effectively intervenes during smoking urges

A pair of related studies on smoking cessation by researchers at the University of Oregon and other institutions have isolated the brain regions most active in controlling urges to smoke and demonstrated the effectiveness of text-messaging to measure and intervene in those urges.

9 Mar 2011

Efficient medical treatments to be showcased at SIR's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting

The Society of Interventional Radiology will feature minimally invasive scientific advances and new discoveries in treating a host of diseases at its 36th Annual Scientific Meeting March 26–31 at McCormick Place (West) in Chicago, Ill. The theme of the meeting is "IR Rising: Leading Image-guided Medicine," chosen to reflect interventional radiology's continued revolutionizing of modern medicine.

5 Mar 2011

Researchers use qMRI to confirm effect of CS treatment in patients with OA

A group of Canadian researchers led by Prof. Jean-Pierre Pelletier, Head of the Osteoarthritis Research Unit at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre, published a clinical trial in which they confirm, for the first time using quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the disease modifying effects of chondroitin sulphate, a symptomatic slow acting drug for osteoarthritis.