Magnetic Resonance Imaging Archives

Genes, lower reward response linked to weight gain, obesity

Yale researchers tie genes, lower reward response to weight gain and obesity. – The brains of obese people seem to respond to a tasty treat with less vigor than the brains of their leaner peers, suggesting obese people may overeat to compensate for a reduced reward response, according to a new brain imaging and genetics study conducted by researchers at Yale University, The John B. Pierce Laboratory, the University of Texas and Oregon Research Institute.

Arthroscopy may not help osteoarthritis patients

A landmark study conducted in London, Canada at The University of Western Ontario and Lawson Health Research Institute shows that a routinely practiced knee surgery is ineffective at reducing joint pain or improving joint function for sufferers of osteoarthritis. – Arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee provides no additional benefit to optimized physical and medical therapy, revealed by researchers in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) issue of Sept. 11, 2008.

Brain maps to assist disease diagnosis, brain surgery

Researchers from the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne are developing new technology to create individualised brain maps that will revolutionise diagnosis of disease and enhance the accuracy of brain surgery. – Researchers from the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne are developing new technology to create individualised brain maps that will revolutionise diagnosis of disease like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease, and enhance the accuracy of brain surgery.

Cannabis use exerts harmful effects on brain tissue

This study provides new evidence of exposure-related structural abnormalities in the hippocampus and amygdala in long-term heavy cannabis users. Heavy daily cannabis use across protracted periods exerts harmful effects on brain tissue and mental health. – Long-term, heavy cannabis use may be associated with structural abnormalities in areas of the brain known as the hippocampus and amygdala, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Sleep deprivation affects visual ability

Neuroscience researchers at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore have shown for the first time what happens to the visual perceptions of healthy but sleep-deprived volunteers who fight to stay awake, like people who try to drive through the night. – Researchers have found that a sleep-deprived brain can normally process simple visuals, like flashing checkerboards. But the ?higher visual areas’ ? those that are responsible for making sense of what we see ? didn’t function well.

Listening to a cell phone distracts drivers

Carnegie mellon study shows just listening to cell phones significantly impairs drivers; Brain imaging reveals drivers are distracted even if they don’t talk. – Carnegie Mellon University scientists have shown that just listening to a cell phone while driving is a significant distraction, and it causes drivers to commit some of the same types of driving errors that can occur under the influence of alcohol.

Research suggests why scratching is so relieving

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have uncovered new clues about why scratching may be so relieving ? and why it can be hard to stop. – Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have uncovered new clues about why scratching may be so relieving ? and why it can be hard to stop. This is the first study to use imaging technology to see what goes on in the brain when we scratch.

Australian Govt should allow GPs to order MRI scans for patients

Australian Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) recently advised that the incoming Government has put the GP MRI initiative on hold pending a review. – The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has written to Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, urging her to implement the previous Government’s policy to allow GPs to order Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans for their patients. Prior to last year’s election, it was announced that GPs would be able to directly refer patients for a Medicare-funded MRI scan of the knee or, where Multiple Sclerosis is suspected, of the brain.

MRI for better assessment of liver fibrosis

Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis remains a major public health problem worldwide. While the majority of complications from chronic liver disease result from progressive hepatic fibrosis, the available diagnostic tests used in clinical practice are not sensitive or specific enough to detect occult liver injury at early or intermediate stages. – MRI imagery is emerging as a non-invasive way to determine the existence and extent of hepatic fibrosis. It could eventually help the development of pharmacologic strategies to combat the condition.

Brain imaging and genetic studies link thinking patterns to addiction

Scientists have for the first time identified brain sites that fire up more when people make impulsive decisions. In a study comparing brain activity of sober alcoholics and non-addicted people making financial decisions, the group of sober alcoholics showed significantly more “impulsive” neural activity. – Alcoholics are more impulsive than non-addicted people making financial decisions, revealed by researcher Charlotte Boettiger at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Combination therapy and antibiotics may help multiple sclerosis patients

Combining a medication currently used to treat multiple sclerosis with an antibiotic may slow the progress of the disease in multiple sclerosis patients.
– A preliminary study suggests that combining a medication currently used to treat multiple sclerosis with an antibiotic may slow the progress of the disease, according to an article posted online today that will appear in the February 2008 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Aging brain failures to communicate

Cognitive decline in aging may be linked to disruption of communication between different regions of the brain.
– A team of Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers has shown that normal aging disrupts communication between different regions of the brain. The new research, which used advanced medical imaging techniques to look at the brain function of 93 healthy individuals from 18 to 93 years old, shows that this decline happens even in the absence of serious pathologies like Alzheimer’s disease.