http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay)—Dotarem (gadoterate meglumine) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a contrast agent for use in MRIs of the brain, spine and other parts of the central nervous system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-dotarem-nervous-mris.html Medications Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:20:01 EST news283095484 High doses of a popular cholesterol-lowering drug significantly reduced the rate of acute kidney injury caused by dye used in imaging in acute coronary syndrome patients who underwent a coronary procedure, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session. This group of patients is at high risk for kidney damage related to contrast agents used in imaging tests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-drug-kidney-injury-imaging-dye.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:30:01 EST news282215641 Results of a study using several imaging methods showed that CCSVI (chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency) occurs at a low rate in both people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and non-MS volunteers, contrary to some previous studies. The research by an interdisciplinary team at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) was published in a recent early online edition of the Annals of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-incidence-venous-insufficiency-ms.html Neuroscience Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:31:17 EST news281896271 Recent statistics showed that five percent of Malaysians have been diagnosed with brain tumours with glioma being the most common type. Radiologists commonly use MRI image sequences to detect glioma clinically by examining the abnormalities on T1-Weighted, T2-Weighted and Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) images. However, when the tumour cannot be detected visually, they will inject a contrast agent of gadolinium to enhance the image modality. This process delays acquisition of results is at a higher cost and imposes side effects to the patients. Therefore, this study proposes a non-invasive solution by utilizing spectral texture features of the MRI images in detecting the tumour in all three sequences of T1, T2-Weighted and FLAIR images. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-outline-non-invasive-method-brain-tumours.html Cancer Mon, 25 Feb 2013 07:05:16 EST news280998310 The research was published early in the January issue of the journal Technology in Cancer Research and Treatment. The article describes experiments using ultrasonic molecular imaging (USMI) and Dynamic Contrast Enhanced-Perfusion Imaging (DCE-PI) to measure response to therapy for pancreatic cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-preclinical-potential-technologies-response-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:09:47 EST news280584578 (Medical Xpress)—The use of a new brain tumor-targeting contrast agent that differentiates between normal and cancer cells in conjunction with a high-powered microscopy system could potentially lead to a method of more precise neurosurgery for brain tumors, according to research paper published as a cover story in the December issue of Translational Oncology. Developed by researchers in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Stony Brook University, the contrast agent adheres to a molecular marker of medulloblastoma, a form of brain cancer, and can be seen by the optical microscope system, also developed by the research team. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-method-brain-tumors-neurosurgery.html Cancer Thu, 10 Jan 2013 06:42:01 EST news277022515 Over the past 30 years, magnetic resonance imaging has evolved into one of the most important imaging procedures in medical diagnostics. With a new approach based on the use of polarized gases and dissolved substances, it will in future be possible to produce even better quality images of the inside of the human body. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will be providing EUR 1.3 million over the next three years to enable researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research to make the new procedure ready for the market. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-mri-technology-images-human-body.html Medical research Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:50:01 EST news274105937 In a study to investigate the detection by MRI of six kinds of positively-charged magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles designed to help monitor transplanted islet cells, a team of Japanese researchers found that the charged nanoparticles they developed transduced into cells and could be visualized by MRI while three kinds of commercially available nanoparticles used for controls could not. The study is published in a recent special issue of Cell Medicine [3(1)], now freely available on-line. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-mri-images-transplanted-islet-cells.html Medical research Mon, 01 Oct 2012 12:02:47 EST news268311760 Researchers validated a method of noninvasive imaging that provides valuable information about interstitial fluid pressure of solid tumors and may aid in the identification of aggressive tumors, according to the results of a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-noninvasive-enables-ifp-potential-biomarker.html Cancer Mon, 01 Oct 2012 02:31:58 EST news268277502 Contrast-enhanced ultrasound was found to better detect high-grade prostate cancer than conventional methods, making it a more appropriate approach for screening clinically important cancers and monitoring low-risk ones with less biopsies, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University and Hospitals conclude in a phase III study published online in September in the Journal of Urology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-contrast-enhanced-ultrasound-high-grade-prostate-cancers.html Cancer Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:23:25 EST news267970732 (Medical Xpress)—Heart catheter procedures guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are as safe as X-ray-guided procedures and take no more time, according to a pilot study conducted at the National Institutes of Health. The results of the study indicate that real-time MRI-guided catheterization could be a radiation-free alternative to certain X-ray-guided procedures. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-heart-catheter-procedures-mris.html Cardiology Mon, 10 Sep 2012 06:40:21 EST news266478009 Cardiologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a noninvasive imaging technique that may help determine whether children who have had heart transplants are showing early signs of rejection. The technique could reduce the need for these patients to undergo invasive imaging tests every one to two years. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-noninvasive-imaging-technique-kids-heart.html Cardiology Thu, 12 Jul 2012 17:43:13 EST news261333784 From the air, the twists and turns of rivers can easily be seen. In the body, however, tracing the twists and turns of blood vessels is difficult, but important. Vessel "bendiness" can indicate the presence and progression of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-preclinical-specialized-ultrasound-presence-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 10 Jul 2012 11:12:15 EST news261137521 Contrast-enhanced ultrasound is an effective, noninvasive method for monitoring patients who undergo endovascular repair for abdominal aortic aneurysms, according to a new study published in the journal Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-contrast-enhanced-ultrasound-aortic-aneurysm-treatment.html Other Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:02 EST news256233982 One of the trickiest parts of treating brain conditions is the blood brain barrier, a blockade of cells that prevent both harmful toxins and helpful pharmaceuticals from getting to the body's control center. But, a technique published in JoVE, uses an MRI machine to guide the use of microbubbles and focused ultrasound to help drugs enter the brain, which may open new treatment avenues for devastating conditions like Alzheimer's and brain cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-brain-treatments.html Medical research Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:04:51 EST news250855480 "Up until now infarct size has only been measured as part of clinical studies and not in routine clinical practice. The reason being that the reference method of gadolinium based contrast agents in MRI is expensive, takes a great deal of time to perform, and can only be undertaken by imaging specialists," explains EAE president Dr Luigi Badano, from the University of Padua, Italy. "The advantages of STE over MRI is that it's far quicker to use, cheaper, and can be used by cardiologists at the bedside with portable machines, and repeated serially when ever needed." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-echocardiography-future-infarct-size-quantification.html Cardiology Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:00:02 EST news242455549 Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nanoparticle technology, researchers from Yale have devised a way to monitor the growth of laboratory-engineered blood vessels after they have been implanted in patients. This advance represents an important step toward ensuring that blood vessels, and possibly other tissues engineered from a patient's own biological material, are taking hold and working as expected. Until now, there has been no way to monitor the growth and progress of engineered tissues once they were implanted. This research was published in the December 2011 issue of the FASEB Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-blood-vessels-patients.html Medical research Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:14:23 EST news241881255 Zinc plays a critical role in regulating how neurons communicate with one another, and could affect how memories form and how we learn. The new research, in the current issue of Neuron, was authored by Xiao-an Zhang, now a chemistry professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), and colleagues at MIT and Duke University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-zinc-role-brain-insight-year-old.html Neuroscience Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:36:27 EST news237036972 Medical imaging experts at Johns Hopkins have reviewed the patient records of 302 men and women who had a much-needed X-ray of the blood vessels near the spinal cord and found that the procedure, often feared for possible complications of stroke and kidney damage, is safe and effective. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-spinal-x-ray-safe.html Neuroscience Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:28:04 EST news235236459 New technology appears to provide faster, more accurate heart scans for both viewing blood vessels in the heart and measuring blood supply to the heart muscle, while exposing patients to less radiation, researchers report in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, a journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-heart-scan-diagnosis.html Cardiology Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:51:08 EST news233337054 A simple blood test may help prevent a serious complication associated with a contrast agent commonly used in MRI exams, according to a study published in the July issue of Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-contrast-agent-guidelines-debilitating-disorder.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 17 May 2011 03:54:58 EST news224823148 A recent study shows how one medical center implemented strict protocols for administering gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) before imaging and eliminated new cases for nephrogenic system fibrosis (NSF). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-protocols-contrast-agents-cases-nephrogenic.html Other Tue, 03 May 2011 04:33:05 EST news223615899