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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: MRI

MRI stories: 15 news summaries

FDA Ignored Data on Risky MRI Dye

Failed to single out role of GE dye, Omniscan,
in onset of disease

Oct 16, 09 8:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - In May 2006, Danish medical regulators came to GE with troubling findings. Twenty-five patients with weak kidneys had developed NSF, a rare and sometimes fatal disease, after undergoing MRIs, and all 25 had been injected with GE’s Omniscan dye. Since then, the GE dye, along with other so-called “... More »

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FDA • General Electric • MRI • Food and Drug Administration • medical technology • Omniscan

investigation

Costs Soar as Docs Order and Perform Tests

Fishy practice
highlights challenge
of medical regulation

Jul 31, 09 12:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - As Congress wrestles with health-care reform, studies show it’s tough to regulate the status quo: Doctors’ “self-referrals” for medical imaging have continued despite efforts to legislate against them, the Washington Post reports. Doctors who own the equipment that scans patients stand to make more cash—and tend to... More »

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health care • health care costs • CT scans • physician • MRI • health care reform • CT scanner • doctors • Bernard Madoff

(Newser) - Researchers have discovered a new link between Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment, a condition that often leads to the brain disorder, CNN reports. In a neuroimaging study, more than half of MCI patients showed brain atrophy similar to those with Alzheimer’s; indeed, a year later, 29% of... More »

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MRI • brain scans • medical study • Alzheimer's Disease • mild cognitive impairment • atrophy

(Newser) - If you ended your holiday visit home with frayed nerves, blame your brain, not your brother's snoring, Discovery reports. Family members prompt activity in a different part of the brain from friends and strangers, a new study shows. Researchers used MRIs to look at subjects' brains while they viewed photos... More »

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parents • family • brain • research • siblings • MRI • scientific study

Bush Gets Shoulder MRI, Visits Soldiers at Walter Reed

President's pain likely just result of wear and tear, docs say

Dec 22, 08 2:26 PM CST
(Newser) - President Bush underwent an MRI today after complaining of pain in his shoulder, the AP reports. The test was done at Walter Reed Medical Center where Bush was visiting convalescing Iraq war veterans, perhaps for the last time during his presidency. A White House doctor said the injury had not... More »

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White House • Walter Reed Army Medical Center • MRI • Iraq veterans • George W. Bush • pain • shoulder

 Multitasking 
 Is a Myth 

Imaging shows brain quickly switches among tasks instead

Oct 4, 08 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Pull your ears away from that cell phone: Multitasking is a myth. New research shows we can’t really concentrate on two things at once; rather, the executive functions of the brain sweep quickly between multiple tasks. It’s thought that survival and the hunt made this rapid refocusing of... More »

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MIT • human evolution • MRI • multitask • University of Michigan • natural selection • scientific research • executive function

MRIs Hold Promise of Early Alzheimer's Detection

Brain plaque spotted in rabbits

Jul 28, 08 2:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - Researchers are a step closer to early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease using conventional MRI scanners. Plaque associated with Alzheimer's has been detected in rabbits by a team in Canada using MRI equipment, Reuters reports. Currently, the disease is diagnosed based on a series of tests, but a diagnosis can only... More »

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MRI • University of Pennsylvania • Mayo Clinic • International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease • Alzheimer's Disease • Robarts Research Institute • amyloid plaques • Dr. Jeffrey Kaye • Braak staging • Prashanthi Vemuri

 Exercise May Slow Alzheimer's 

Study finds fit patients have less brain atrophy

Jul 15, 08 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Alzheimer's patients may be able to slow the progression of the disease with exercise, a new study has discovered. Patients who were in poorer physical condition experienced up to four times more brain shrinkage than those who were physically fit, WebMD reports. More »

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exercise • MRI • physical fitness • cardiorespiratory fitness • University of Kansas School of Medicine • Alzheimer's Disease

Brains Look Alike in Gay Men, Straight Women

Findings add to evidence that sexual orientation is innate

Jun 17, 08 12:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Gay men and straight women have similarly shaped brains, new research shows. Homosexual men and heterosexual women both have relatively symmetrical brains, while heterosexual men and lesbians have significantly larger right hemispheres, reports the Guardian. The research provides new evidence that sexual orientation is hardwired into the brain. More »

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brain • homosexuality • MRI

Tiny Shocks
Win by a Nose

Sense of smell shows electric response; technique could help PTSD patients

Mar 28, 08 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Electric shocks can sharpen the sense of smell, a finding that suggests new ways of altering sensory perception, the Chicago Tribune reports. MRIs showed subjects’ brains actually changing after researchers administered tiny shocks, which improved their ability to distinguish between similar smells. Because many psychological conditions relate to the senses,... More »

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mental health • brain • MRI • therapy • sense of smell • PTSD • electrical shocks • health research • phobias

 No Lie: Polygraphs On the Rise 

Critics hold firm, but use of test growing nationwide

Mar 22, 08 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Despite lingering reservations about its effectiveness, the polygraph is gaining traction with law enforcement. The lie-detection program has spiked 53% in the last decade, and truth be told, just the threat of a test keeps convicts honest, drug addicts and sex offenders told the Wall Street Journal. “... More »

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Texas • Denver • Dallas • Houston • sex offenders • domestic violence • Oregon • parole • MRI • Colorado • polygraph • Klamath Falls • drug addicts • American Polygraph Association • Fifth Amendment

Virtual Surgery Coming Soon?

3D models of patients'  bodies would let surgeons practice first

Dec 8, 07 6:39 AM CST
(Newser) - Within five years, surgeons may be able to create 3D virtual models of patients' bodies in order to practice surgeries ahead of time. While current virtual surgery lags far behind the realism of, say, combat video games, a UCLA assistant math professor believes this could change soon, reports Scientific American.... More »

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medicine • surgery • CT scans • MRI • virtual imaging

Brains of ADHD Kids
Mature Later: Study

Cortex controlling action and attention lags three years behind

Nov 13, 07 3:35 AM CST
(Newser) - The brains of hyperactive children appear to develop more slowly than those of their peers,  researchers have discovered, with the cortex—the area that affects attention and action— maturing 3 years later than in other children. The finding accounts for the fact that many kids with ADHD grow out... More »

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ADHD • children • brain • MRI • prefrontal cortex • scientific study

Do Vegetative Patients Dream of Comatose Sheep?

Research sheds light on impaired brain activity

Oct 14, 07 9:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - New research into the way vegetative brains function is challenging the way the scientific community classifies cognitively impaired patients. Recent studies show that some vegetative patients can recognize faces, acquire new memories, and imagine physical movement—all mental activities long held to be out of reach for such patients, the... More »

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brain damage • neuroscience • MRI

MRIs Beat Mammograms at Spotting Earliest Breast Cancer

Researchers urge switch to save lives

Aug 10, 07 10:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - MRIs significantly outperform mammograms in detecting pockets of abnormal cells that can lead to full-blown breast cancer, and the costly scans should be used routinely to save more women's lives, researchers say. A new study out today says MRIs detected 92% of the early lesions, called ductal carcinoma in situ,... More »

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cancer • breast cancer • medical research • cancer research • oncology • MRI • mammogram

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