A new imaging method using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can noninvasively test for and distinguish among different types of degenerative brain disorders, according to researchers at the universities of Minnesota and Washington.

This could have tremendous implications for both neuroscience researchers and clinical neurology. For example, people at risk of carrying the gene for Huntington’s disease, which usually doesn’t cause symptoms … read more »

Singer and breast cancer survivor Sheryl Crow has announced the opening of the Sheryl Crow Imaging Center, which she describes as “a state-of-the-art breast imaging center featuring the latest advancements in digital screening and diagnostic imaging technologies.”

Of course it would have the “latest advancements”; after all, it’s in Beverly Hills, California.

Actually, the high-end address is attributable to the fact that … read more »

Risk management can be devilishly tricky. For example, is a better breast-cancer imaging method worth the increased radiation dosage for the patient?

A new report in the journal Radiology, being published in the October issue and in advance online today, raises that issue. “A single breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) or positron emission mammography (PEM) examination carries a lifetime risk of inducing … read more »

Just as medical isotopes from the finally restarted nuclear reactor at Chalk River, Ontario, have begun trickling into the supply pipeline, doctors at a national symposium warned of the possible consequences of the current isotope shortage.

Before it was unexpectedly shut down in May 2009, the Chalk River plant had produced up to a third of the world’s medical isotopes—and half … read more »

Death during a CT scan in Florida resulted last week in a $6.2 million medical malpractice verdict.

An Alachua County (Gainesville) jury found against Shands at the University of Florida hospital in Gainesville. The hospital was expected to appeal.

In December 2002, Jacksonville resident Cory Fine, PhD, a business-school professor at the University of North Florida, underwent gastric-bypass surgery for weight loss … read more »

A 15-minute MRI brain scan has proven more than 90 percent accurate in diagnosing autism in adults, according to researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London. Such a technique could greatly streamline diagnosis of the disorder.

According to the National Institutes of Health, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects three to six children out of every 1,000. The term … read more »

MRI is getting more and more useful as a tool for diagnosing prostate cancer. Rutgers University researchers say they can now use it to distinguish between fast-growing and slow-growing cancers with more than 90 percent accuracy.

That would make noninvasive, radiation-safe MRI an excellent tool for helping to decide which patients need immediate treatment and which might better be served by … read more »