Diagnostic Imaging
January 1999

Newsclips

By John Hayes and Dan Krotz

Functional MRI identifies attention deficit disorder

In another application for functional MRI, Stanford University researchers have identified a difference in brain function between children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and healthy children.

Their study of 16 ADHD children, published in the Nov. 24 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the basal ganglia areas of the brain are less active in ADHD children. The finding may help distinguish between school-age children who have excessive energy but are not hyperactive and those who have ADHD.

EBCT predicts heart disease in women

A 15-year study has found that electron-beam CT (EBCT) can determine which premenopausal women with no clinical symptoms or risk factors of heart disease will go on to develop coronary artery disease.

The University of Pittsburgh assessed 541 premenopausal women in their late 40s in 1983 and 1984 for health indicators such as cholesterol level, fat intake, and blood pressure. In the mid-1990s, 168 of them underwent EBCT to measure calcification. The researchers found that some premenopausal women without high risk factors showed preclinical signs of heart disease when measured postmenopausally with EBCT.

The findings may help identify premenopausal women with no risk factors who are candidates for preventive treatments before their heart disease reaches a clinical stage.

RSNA going to Disney World…

The Radiological Society of North America will sponsor an exhibit at the Walt Disney World Millennium Celebration, opening at Epcot Center in October. The 3000 sq-ft exhibit is budgeted for $3.7 million and is part of a larger effort to increase awareness of radiology and radiologists.

“People from all over the world will learn about exciting current and future uses of radiology and the work of radiologists.” said Dr. David B. Fraser, 1998 president of the RSNA.

...But its meeting stays in Chicago

Promises by Chicago officials of a friendlier environment for visitors and exhibitors convinced the Radiological Society of North America to delay by at least two years plans to move its annual meeting to Orlando.

The RSNA had intended to move its annual 60,000-person trade show and scientific assembly to Orlando for two years beginning in 2002, and to alternate between Chicago and Orlando thereafter. But the impending move worried exhibitors and others who feared attendees would turn the meeting into a family trip and spend too much time visiting amusement parks and other attractions.

The RSNA reconsidered after Chicago leaders promised more hotel rooms, better transportation to and from the convention center, and changes in labor rules to reduce exhibit setup costs.

White matter ‘stiffer’ than gray matter

In a technique that mimics palpation to evaluate tissue, radiologists at the Mayo Clinic have devised a way to distinguish white from gray brain matter by using MR to capture waveform responses to acoustic signals.

Called MR elastography, the technique is designed to measure changes in the mechanical properties of brain tissue in response to injury. An electromechanical vibrator creates acoustic shear waves of 75 to 125 Hz. The waves bounce off brain tissue, and data from the resulting tissue displacement—or elasticity—are captured by a 1.5-tesla MR imager.

Researchers presented their data at the 1998 meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. The studies showed that normal white matter is considerably stiffer (a mean of 15.5 kPa) than gray matter (mean of 6.6 kPa), they said.

Ultrasound exams valuable adjunct in very dense breasts

Ultrasound was found to be a valuable adjunct to mammography for detecting cancer in women with dense breasts in a study presented at the 1998 meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

The three-year study led by Dr. Thomas M. Kolb, a private-practice radiologist in New York City, included results from 18,000 women. Among those with dense breasts, mammography alone detected 70% of the cancers, but adding ultrasound brought the detection rate to 94%.

Mammography detected 98% of cancers in women with very fatty breasts, only 55% of cancers in women with very dense breasts,”Kolb said.