Dear Molecular Imaging Insider,
This issue of the Insider features a newly released study from French researchers, who used SPECT to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions of the brain in fibromyalgia patients. The findings support the idea that fibromyalgia symptoms are related to a dysfunction in the parts of the brain where pain is processed.
According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), fibromyalgia syndrome is a common and chronic disorder characterized by widespread muscle pain and fatigue that afflicts as many as one in 50 Americans. Women account for 80% to 90% of that population.
Click here to read the findings from the Service Central de Biophysique et de Médecine Nucléaire in Marseille.
In other features, the Australian PET Data Collection Project is amassing more evidence that shows that PET positively changes management plans for cancer patients. Led by Dr. Andrew Scott, director of the Centre for PET at Austin Hospital in Melbourne, the newest research shows that PET provides important prognostic information in a large proportion of patients with untreated head and neck cancer, and also detects additional sites of disease.
In addition, staff writer Eric Barnes reports on the latest results from the National Oncologic PET Registry, as they were unveiled at the fall meeting of the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN). Once again, research shows that PET imaging changed treatment decisions in more than a third of cancer patients scanned.
Also read how proton therapy is an effective treatment for chondrosarcomas of the skull bone and cervical spine, offering high local control at the base of the skull and high overall survival rates with acceptable toxicity.
That conclusion comes from a study developed at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, CA, and the National Cancer Center in Goyang, South Korea; results were presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO).
If you're attending the upcoming meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago, be sure to read AuntMinnie.com's Road to RSNA 2008: Molecular Imaging Preview before you pack your bags. That is where we highlight new products and services scheduled for introduction in molecular Imaging. See you in the Windy City!
