All articles tagged with #mri scans
Scientists from NTU Singapore discovered that enlarged perivascular spaces, which block the brain's waste removal system, may serve as early indicators of Alzheimer's disease, especially in Asian populations, and can be identified through routine MRI scans, potentially enabling earlier diagnosis and intervention.
Scientists have developed a 'mind captioning' technique that can generate descriptive interpretations of brain activity from MRI scans, showing promising accuracy in understanding what people are seeing or thinking, with potential applications for aiding communication in medical patients but raising privacy concerns.
Scientists have discovered that psychopaths have a 10% larger striatum in the brain, which is linked to impulsivity and a craving for stimulation, providing insights into the neurobiological basis of antisocial behavior and its developmental roots.
A study from UC Irvine and Spain suggests that changes in brain shape, detectable through MRI scans, may serve as early indicators of dementia and Alzheimer's, with specific regions like the entorhinal cortex being particularly affected. These shape shifts could help in early diagnosis and understanding disease mechanisms.
A study using ultra-high-resolution 7T MRI scanners found that severe Covid-19 can cause lasting damage and inflammation in the brainstem, which may explain long-term physical and psychiatric symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, and anxiety, highlighting the importance of brain health in Covid-19 recovery.
A study from the University of Florida found that positive lifestyle habits such as good sleep, optimism, social support, and stress management can make the brain appear up to eight years younger than chronological age, even in individuals with chronic pain, suggesting lifestyle choices significantly influence brain aging.
A study published in Nature Communications suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated brain aging in people regardless of infection, with greater effects observed in older adults, men, and disadvantaged groups, although cognitive impairments were only evident in those infected with the virus.
A study using MRI scans of children under 13 with restrictive eating disorders found structural brain differences, such as thinner cortex and reduced brain volume, which may be linked to behaviors and other neurodevelopmental conditions like OCD and autism, highlighting the importance of treating these disorders as distinct but related conditions.
Research shows that optimists share similar brain activity patterns when imagining future scenarios, particularly in the medial prefrontal cortex, which may underpin their social success and resilience by enabling them to process positive and negative events distinctly. This shared neural framework suggests that optimism involves a common way of mentally organizing future thoughts, rather than identical ideas, highlighting the structural basis of positive outlooks.
Knee damage is increasingly occurring in people in their 30s, often without pain, due to factors like obesity, genetics, and lifestyle. Early signs include stiffness, swelling, clicking sounds, and difficulty with movement. Preventive measures include maintaining a healthy weight, exercising gently, strengthening surrounding muscles, practicing good posture, and early screening, which can help delay or prevent long-term joint issues.
A neuroscientist conducted a pioneering study by scanning her own brain 26 times before, during, and after pregnancy to observe physical changes, revealing decreases in gray matter and improvements in white matter, though the implications of these changes remain unclear. The research aims to better understand brain adaptations during pregnancy and their potential links to postpartum depression.
New research shows that adults in their thirties can already have early signs of knee joint damage detectable by MRI, with higher BMI being a significant factor, highlighting the importance of weight management for joint health.
A UK trial suggests that reducing the duration of MRI scans for prostate cancer by a third could make them cheaper and more accessible without compromising accuracy. The trial found that using a shorter two-stage scan instead of the current three-stage scan could diagnose the same proportion of prostate cancers while being almost 50% cheaper. This development could allow more men to benefit from quicker, injection-free scans at a lower cost to healthcare systems.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham found that using MRI scans to pinpoint the exact area of the brain to target with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) could ease depression symptoms for up to six months, doubling the length of time that the treatment worked for. The study involved 255 patients with treatment-resistant depression, and two-thirds of participants responded to the treatment, with a fifth going into remission. The personalized TMS treatment, guided by MRI scans, also improved memory, anxiety, and quality of life for the patients.
Patients are increasingly seeking out full-body MRI scans offered by Prenuvo, a Silicon Valley-based company, for early detection of conditions like cancer, multiple sclerosis, and brain aneurysms. The scans, which cost $2,500 and are not covered by insurance, have gained popularity due to their ability to identify over 500 conditions. Prenuvo plans to open 11 more clinics by 2024 to meet the growing demand. While medical experts caution that full-body MRI scans have limitations and are not meant to replace targeted screenings, patients like Dr. Julianne Santarosa credit the scans with detecting their cancer early and avoiding more invasive treatments. Prenuvo is working to lower costs through scaling and exploring the use of artificial intelligence.