Nuclear Medicine News and Research

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Nuclear medicine is a branch or specialty of medicine and medical imaging that uses radioactive isotopes (radionuclides) and relies on the process of radioactive decay in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. In nuclear medicine procedures, radionuclides are combined with other chemical compounds or pharmaceuticals to form radiopharmaceuticals.

Scientists observe gene activity outside the body

Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia have used PET imaging to see hyperactive cancer genes inside breast tumors in laboratory animals, marking the first time such gene activity has been observed from outside the body.

29 Nov 2007

Unprecedented increase in the use of radiologic exams on pregnant women

The past decade has seen an unprecedented increase in the use of radiologic exams on pregnant women, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

27 Nov 2007

Pregnant women may be having too many high-tech scans

A new study has found that pregnant women are having more high-tech imaging examinations and are thereby exposing their babies to higher doses of radiation than a decade ago.

27 Nov 2007

Whole-body positron emission tomography can reassure cervical cancer patients

Whole-body PET (positron emission tomography) scans done three months after completion of cervical cancer therapy can ensure that patients are disease-free or warn that further interventions are needed, according to a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

21 Nov 2007

PET scans useful for some cancer treatment, but how do patients fare?

Positron emission tomography or PET scans can help clinicians diagnose and treat some cancers, but it is not clear yet whether the imaging technology helps people with cancer live longer and healthier lives, according to a comprehensive review by the U.K. National Health Service.

14 Nov 2007

Cancers successfully treated by targeting the viruses that cause them

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have shown for the first time that cancers can be successfully treated by targeting the viruses that cause them.

31 Oct 2007

Quantitative PET imaging finds early determination of effectiveness of cancer treatment

With positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, seeing is believing: Evaluating a patient's response to chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) typically involves visual interpretation of scans of cancer tumors.

24 Oct 2007

New device ensures nuclear medicine safer than ever

Hospitals are now able to ensure that the correct dose is administered to the 670,000 patients that undergo nuclear medicine procedures every year due to a new device developed by scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).

10 Oct 2007

Researchers tackle phantom sounds of tinnitus

For the more than 50 million Americans who experience the phantom sounds of tinnitus -- ringing in the ears that can range from annoying to debilitating -- certain well-trained rats may be their best hope for finding relief.

8 Oct 2007

Agfa HealthCare finalizes implementation of fully integrated cardiology suite at Belgian Hospital

Agfa HealthCare, a leading provider of IT-enabled clinical workflow and diagnostic imaging solutions, announces today that it has completed the installation of its IMPAX(TM) Cardiovascular Suite at the AZ Imelda hospital in Bonheiden, Belgium.

27 Sep 2007

Nuclear medicine approach can be first choice for excluding pulmonary embolism in young women

Young women at risk of having a pulmonary embolism - a potential life-threatening blockage in a lung artery - should first undergo a ventilation/perfusion lung scan (V/Q scan) rather than a CT (computed tomography) angiogram, conclude authors in a paper published in the September Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

10 Sep 2007

PET MPI provides a more accurate "picture" of coronary obstruction

Physicians need to know how badly heart vessels are blocked before they can decide how to treat patients at risk of having a heart attack.

17 Aug 2007

Cerebral blood flow provides clues to treating depression

The usefulness of established molecular imaging/nuclear medicine approaches in identifying the hows and whys of brain dysfunction and its potential in providing immediately useful information in treating depression are emphasized in a study in the August Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

9 Aug 2007

Antibody targets nanotubes to tumors

Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have created biocompatible single-walled carbon nanotubes that can target lymphomas and deliver both imaging and therapeutic molecules to these tumors.

23 Jul 2007

New study explains placebo effect

Why do some people experience a “placebo effect” that makes them feel better when they receive a sham treatment they believe to be real — while other people don't respond at all to the same thing, or even feel worse?

19 Jul 2007

Study shows inaccuracies in cardiac PET-CT imaging

Current PET-CT scanners with standard commercial software designed to provide images of the heart are falsely indicating coronary artery disease in as many as 40 percent of patients, according to a study published today on the cover page of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

4 Jul 2007

Hypothyroidism linked to mood swings

Hypothyroidism is often associated with mood changes like depression lethargy.

5 Jun 2007

Time-of-flight positron emission tomography provides benefits for cancer patients

Moving from computer simulation to patient images, researchers are now demonstrating the benefits that time-of-flight (TOF)/PET (positron emission tomography) imaging can provide for cancer patients.

5 Jun 2007

What causes Alzheimer's disease?

Researchers tied the accumulation of the toxic brain protein beta-amyloid to Alzheimer's disease, according to a study reported at the 54th Annual Meeting of SNM, the world's largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals.

5 Jun 2007

PET plus CT - best test for ovarian cancer

An advanced molecular imaging technique influenced the management of women with ovarian cancer, detected more sites of disease and identified women whose disease was likely to progress, according to an Australian study released during the 54th Annual Meeting of SNM, the world's largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals.

5 Jun 2007