Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) News and Research

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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a large magnet and radio waves to look at organs and structures inside your body. Health care professionals use MRI scans to diagnose a variety of conditions, from torn ligaments to tumors. MRIs are very useful for examining the brain and spinal cord. Also called: Magnetic resonance imaging, NMR, Nuclear magnetic resonance.

Endorectal MRI helps assess eligibility of men with prostate cancer for active surveillance

PSA screening has resulted in improved prostate cancer survival, but the high rate of diagnosis and treatment side effects raise concerns about overtreatment. In the quest to prevent overtreatment, "active surveillance" has emerged as a plausible option, encouraged for men whose tumors may not need immediate treatment and may never progress to more serious illness. Appropriate criteria for selecting patients for active surveillance are continuously debated.

25 Sep 2012

Study tracks and compares brain growth in chimpanzee and human fetuses

Humans' superior brain size in comparison to their chimpanzee cousins traces all the way back to the womb. That's according to a study reported in the September 25 issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, that is the first to track and compare brain growth in chimpanzee and human fetuses.

25 Sep 2012

BG-12 effective for relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis

Results of the CONFIRM and DEFINE studies suggest that dimethyl fumarate should be considered as an oral treatment for patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis.

24 Sep 2012

Bruker to purchase preclinical imaging product portfolio and related assets from Carestream

Carestream Health and Bruker have entered into an agreement for Bruker to purchase the preclinical in-vivo imaging equipment product portfolio and related assets from Carestream's Molecular Imaging business. Financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

24 Sep 2012

Close monitoring could give early warning of MS disease course

Patients with multiple sclerosis who have breakthrough disease activity early in the course of treatment with interferon beta-1a are at high risk for severe worsening and poor long-term outcomes, research shows.

20 Sep 2012

Obese adults with excess visceral fat, biomarkers of insulin resistance more likely to develop diabetes

Obese adults with excess visceral fat (fat located inside the abdominal cavity, around the body's internal organs) and biomarkers of insulin resistance had an associated increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, while obese individuals with higher amounts of total body fat and subcutaneous fat (underneath the skin) did not have this increased risk, according to a study in the September 19 issue of JAMA, and theme issue on obesity.

20 Sep 2012

Obese individuals with excess visceral fat more likely to develop type 2 diabetes

Obese individuals with excess visceral fat (abdominal fat that surrounds the body-s internal organs) have an increased risk for the development of Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. By contrast, persons with excess abdominal subcutaneous fat (fat underneath the skin) were not at higher risk for the onset of diabetes.

19 Sep 2012

‘C’ variant disrupts brain connectivity in children with ASD

Over the past decade, researchers have made great strides in identifying genes that lead to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which result in a continuum of social deficits, communication difficulties and cognitive delays. But it's still critical to determine how exactly these genetic risk factors impact the brain's structure and function so that better treatments and interventions can be developed.

15 Sep 2012

MRI workers experience transient neurocognitive effects

Individuals working in the vicinity of magnetic resonance imaging machines may experience transient neurocognitive effects when moving their heads, research demonstrates.

10 Sep 2012

Teenage brains being changed by the digital revolution

The digital revolution appears to be changing the adolescent brain to enable it to cope with constant technological stimulation, says visiting U.S. adolescent brain researcher Dr Jay Giedd.

6 Sep 2012

MRI lesions match site of recent-onset inflammatory back pain

Patients with recent inflammatory back pain who undergo examination with magnetic resonance imaging typically show inflammation at the site of their pain, a study confirms.

3 Sep 2012

MRI detects high prevalence of abnormalities associated with knee osteoarthritis

A study conducted by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detected a high prevalence of abnormalities associated with knee osteoarthritis in middle-aged and elderly patients that had no evidence of knee osteoarthritis in X-ray images.

1 Sep 2012

Study may spur research into multi-model imaging based biomarker development for AD

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common brain disorders, with an estimated 35 million people affected worldwide. In the last decade, research has advanced our understanding of how AD affects the brain. However, diagnosis continues to rely primarily on neuropsychological tests which can only detect the disease after clinical symptoms begin. In a supplement to the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, investigators report on the development of imaging-based biomarkers that will have an impact on diagnosis before the disease process is set in motion.

31 Aug 2012

Alcohol can cause more than one pattern of birth defects

A collaborative research effort by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Duke University, and University College of London in the UK, sheds new light on alcohol-related birth defects.

23 Aug 2012

Study demonstrates MRI role in defining and understanding causes of MS

New magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research shows that changes in brain blood flow associated with vein abnormalities are not specific for multiple sclerosis (MS) and do not contribute to its severity, despite what some researchers have speculated. Results of the research are published online in the journal Radiology.

21 Aug 2012

Pulvinar regulates communication between clusters of brain cells

A mysterious region deep in the human brain could be where we sort through the onslaught of stimuli from the outside world and focus on the information most important to our behavior and survival, Princeton University researchers have found.

18 Aug 2012

Early MRI scans for acute lower back injury may lead to increased disability

If you've recently hurt your back on the job, getting a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan won't increase your chances of a good recovery, suggests a study in the August 15 issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

17 Aug 2012

Sophisticated brain scans can accurately predict age

It isn't uncommon for people to pass for ages much older or younger than their years, but researchers have now found that this feature doesn't apply to our brains. The findings reported online on August 16 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, show that sophisticated brain scans can be used to accurately predict age, give or take a year.

17 Aug 2012

Febrile seizures increase hippocampal injury risk

Children with febrile status epilepticus are at risk for hippocampal injury and show abnormalities in the development of this brain area, show findings from a prospective multicenter study.

16 Aug 2012

Short-term intervention alters neural architecture of stutterers

A short-term intervention in patients who stutter can help reorganize the intrinsic functional architecture of speech–language processes, a Chinese study shows.

15 Aug 2012