Dear AuntMinnie Member,
The issue of gadolinium retention after MRI scans is making headlines again. Our coverage of a recent study that found signs of gadolinium deposition in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who had MRI scans was our most-read article of the week.
In the study, researchers from Italy examined gadolinium deposition in MS patients who had received multiple MRI scans with one of two gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs). Both GBCAs were macrocyclic agents, which are believed to be less prone to deposition than linear agents.
The researchers found signs of hyperintensities in areas of the brain that have been connected to gadolinium deposition. But it should be noted that they found no signs of clinical problems in the patients.
In other MRI news, researchers from Florida developed an artificial intelligence algorithm that can distinguish between types of parkinsonian syndromes on diffusion-weighted MRI exams, while a U.K. group developed an algorithm of its own to analyze diffusion-tensor MRI scans to identify which patients with stroke-related small-vessel disease could progress to cognitive decline and possible dementia.
You'll find these stories and more in our MRI Community, at mri.auntminnie.com.
Ga-68 PET/MRI for prostate cancer
What's the best imaging modality for assessing patients at intermediate or high risk of advanced prostate cancer? While multiparametric MRI has been used often, researchers from Switzerland gave PET/MRI with a gallium-68 (Ga-68) prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) radiotracer a try.
They found that Ga-68 PSMA PET/MRI performed comparably to multiparametric MRI, but it did have some advantages, such as higher sensitivity. There were also other differences between the techniques.
In addition, PET and MRI showed their worth for detecting the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaque in people with mild cognitive impairment, in another article you can read in our Molecular Imaging Community. Head to molecular.auntminnie.com for more details.
Vote for the Best Radiology Image
Have you voted yet for the Best Radiology Image of 2019 in the Minnies, AuntMinnie.com's annual event recognizing excellence in radiology? You have until midnight to let us know which image you think is best -- just head over to our Facebook page and click "like" on the image you think should win.
