Dear AuntMinnie Member,
It's a story that had a happy ending, but it's still unsettling all the same. In a new article in our MRI Community, we describe a case study authored by clinicians in Indiana who used MRI to discover that an infant girl believed to be suffering from oxygen deprivation had actually been exposed to ketamine from an illegal drug manufacturing operation in her home.
The 10-month-old girl had arrived at the hospital's emergency room unresponsive and barely breathing. Emergency physicians initially suspected oxygen deprivation, but findings on an MRI scan were the opposite of what usually occurs in these cases, leading them to look for another cause.
They eventually settled on exposure to ketamine, a powerful drug used for sedation and anesthesia that's being abused by recreational drug users. Investigators discovered that the infant had accidentally ingested ketamine, which was found on dishes in the home that were being used to make recreational drugs.
Read more about the case by clicking here, or visit our MRI Community at mri.auntminnie.com.
PET and dementia
In other news, researchers from Johns Hopkins University are sharing their work in using PET to detect early signs of Alzheimer's disease in people with mild cognitive impairment.
Specifically, they addressed the issue of serotonin neuron loss, which has been demonstrated in those with Alzheimer's, but the cause of the decline has not been understood. The Johns Hopkins team used PET along with MRI scans to find a link between Alzheimer's disease and a loss of serotonin transporters -- a finding that could lead to the development of therapies targeting serotonin loss.
Learn more about the study by clicking here, or visit our Molecular Imaging Community at molecular.auntminnie.com.
Last week for Minnies nominations
Finally, this is our last week of accepting nominations for the Minnies, our annual awards event recognizing excellence in radiology. Is there a colleague who deserves recognition for his or her work, a scientific paper that caught your fancy, or a product you want to tell the world about? Let us know by clicking here, or go to minnies.auntminnie.com.
