Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) may be useful in predicting brain damage in cases of shaken baby syndrome, according to research presented this week at the American Society of Neuroradiology meeting in Seattle.
The finding could help clinicians more accurately identify and direct treatment toward those infants who have suffered severe injury in shaken baby cases, according to an article by staff writer Tracie L. Thompson in our MRI Digital Community.
In a study of 11 infants who had been shaken, MRS detected elevated lactate levels in some regions of the brain in four babies -- the same ones who exhibited other signs of potential damage, like ICU admission and early seizures. There were no elevated lactate levels in three children who did not exhibit negative early outcomes.
The researchers believe that the prognostic power of MRS could help social services agencies focus their resources better on those children who would benefit most from early therapy following a shaken baby incident.
In another MRI-related presentation from ASNR, U.S. researchers found that diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) MRI can be an aid in presurgical planning for cases of temporal lobe epilepsy. DTI can work with conventional MRI in helping surgeons determine which temporal lobe is causing an abnormality.
You'll find both stories in our MRI Digital Community, at mri.auntminnie.com.
