all magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) stories

Neuroimaging fails to demonstrate ESP is real

404132862 — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:00:49 -0500

Psychologists at Harvard University have developed a new method to study extrasensory perception that, they argue, can resolve the century-old debate over its existence. According to the authors, their study not only illustrates a new method for studying such phenomena, but also provides the strongest evidence yet
obtained against the existence of extrasensory perception, or ESP.

Economic motivation could underlie some ordering of imaging tests

404132862 — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 17:44:40 -0400

A new study by researchers at Institute for Technology Assessment in Massachusetts General Hospital's (MGH) Department of Radiology finds that physicians who consistently refer patients to themselves or members of their own specialty for imaging studies, rather than to radiologists, are more likely to order such studies for a variety of medical conditions. The results suggest that economic motivation could underlie some of the excess referrals.

Finding the start of Alzheimer's disease

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 15:46:24 -0400

Faces are hard to remember. Even harder are the names that go with them. It’s one of the most common problems people face as they get older.

In puzzling over why that is, Reisa Sperling and her colleagues at Harvard Medical School have discovered startling things about how memories are made and why people lose them, particularly those on the way to Alzheimer’s disease.

“Names and faces are so difficult to put together because there’s no obvious connection between them,” says Sperling, who is an associate professor of neurology. “There’s no ‘Bill look,’ or ‘Mary face.’”

Imaging may not be major driver of hospital cost increases

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 06:18:33 -0400

"There have been several news stories and reports from insurers claiming that imaging costs are catching and even surpassing drug costs as major drivers of health care inflation," says Scott Gazelle, M.D., MPH, Ph.D., and an MGH radiologist who is director of the Institute for Technology Assessment. "Those of us who work in imaging believe that its use should be celebrated, since imaging has truly transformed the way we deliver health care. But we also need to understand the value that imaging brings to health care; and when looking at its costs, we need to make sure our analyses are accurate."

Gazelle and co-author Molly Beinfeld, MPH, analyzed billing records for patients admitted to MGH between 1996 and 2002.

Fighting prostate cancer with radioactive seeds

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:04:36 -0400

In November 1997, a team of surgeons headed by Anthoy D'Amico, an associate professor of radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School, first used a technique that treats early stages of prostate cancer in a way that, for some patients, may be superior to the usual methods of surgical removal of the gland or seven weeks of external radiation. The team used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to place 100 radioactive seeds, each smaller than a rice grain, into tumors inside a walnut-size prostate gland. Properly placed, the seeds destroy cancer cells. The team has since done more than 140 procedures without any failures or recurrence of cancer. "Patients experience fewer side effects than with ultrasound placement," D'Amico says.

Electromagnets used in treating depression

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:14:14 -0400

Recent studies by Harvard researchers at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., have enlarged the body of knowledge about a promising, though still experimental, treatment for a variety of psychiatric disorders. The treatment is called "transcranial magnetic stimulation," and essentially involves placing a powerful electromagnet on a person's scalp. The electromagnet alters brain activity by inducing an electromagnetic current in the underlying cortical neurons. Researchers aren't sure why that would have a therapeutic effect.