Body

Migraine specialists attending the American Headache Society (AHS) science meeting here this weekend say they believe that more government money for migraine research holds the most promise for winning the battle against the disease.

When asked to rank four areas of research need, 40 % say an increase in public funds is more important even than understanding basic aspects of the disease -- more than early intervention in a migraine attack (28%), migraine genetics (25%), or the role of the thalamus (6%).

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—Research being presented at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting shows that molecular imaging is helping to determine the cause and expand treatment for a silent killer. A study focusing on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)—a cardiovascular disorder that causes a thickening of the heart muscle—is proving that the effects of a genetic mutation may be an important key to understanding the disease. In related research, a treatment called alcohol septal ablation is being revealed as an effective treatment for severe cases of HCM.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—Research introduced at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting reveals the extent to which an ongoing study can help save life and limb for patients with diabetes-related foot infections. Diabetes can cause nerve damage and reduced blood flow to the bones and tissues of the feet, leaving diabetics vulnerable to infection. This study shows that combining two imaging agents with molecular imaging techniques provides diabetic patients an excellent infection screening method that has already spared a number of patients from aggressive amputation of infected feet.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—Research presented at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting highlights molecular imaging's diagnostic potential for patients with fever of unknown origin. Persistent fever can be a warning sign for a range of diseases that could be dangerous if left untreated. A single, full-body molecular imaging scan may give physicians everything they need to narrow down the cause and determine appropriate treatment.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—A study introduced at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting shows potential relief for patients who suffer chronic pain after back surgery. A molecular imaging procedure that combines functional and anatomical information about the body is able to zero in on the site of abnormal bone reaction and provide more accurate diagnoses and appropriate pain management for patients who have received hardware implants or bone grafts.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—A study introduced at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting is advancing a positron emission tomography (PET) imaging method that uses new 4D image reconstruction to achieve the highest diagnostic capability for the detection of cancer. Mounting evidence shows that PET imaging, which provides visual representations of bodily functions, is significantly more sensitive when used with cutting-edge 4D image reconstruction technology that accounts for patient respiration and produces clearer, more easily interpreted images.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—Scientists presented new research at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting that has the potential to help physicians detect breast cancer by imaging the proliferation of blood vessels carrying oxygen and nutrients to breast tumors. Their study is evaluating a new imaging agent that is naturally drawn to angiogenesis—the development of new blood vessels in tissues both normal and cancerous. This process turns malignant during the growth stage of many cancerous tumors including those in breast tissue.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—A study introduced at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting may lead to the next wave of cancer imaging by helping to develop a molecular imaging agent that detects many malignant cancers' incessant development of blood vessels—a process called angiogenesis. A protein biomarker known as CD105 has been shown to indicate tumor angiogenesis in cancer patients.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—Researchers are halting kidney cancer with a novel form of radioimmunotherapy that zeroes in on antigens associated with renal cell carcinoma. Patients with progressive kidney cancer receiving up to three doses of the therapy show dramatic slowing of cancer growth and stabilization of their disease.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—Research introduced at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting could be a sign of hope for patients with neuroendocrine cancer not responding well to standard therapies. Most radiotherapies use medical isotopes that emit beta radiation. The therapy in this study employs alpha particles, which have potential for higher potency. In fact, one single atom could be enough to kill an entire cancer cell.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—Investigators at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting are presenting results from a phase 1 clinical trial for a cancer therapy that has the potential to kill colorectal tumors with less destruction of healthy tissue. Further research could lead to the use of this radioimmunotherapy to eliminate residual cancer after surgery or as a standard treatment to keep tumors from returning or spreading to other organs.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—Research presented at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting is taking targeted molecular imaging to a new level by combining two commonly used imaging agents into one molecular imaging procedure. The combination of these agents creates a comprehensive examination of the extent of cancer spread within a variety of organ systems in the body.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—A study presented at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting may provide a new tool for detection of malignant-stage ovarian cancer. Researchers found that positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT), which images both functional and anatomical changes in the body, was useful for preoperative cancer imaging of ovarian masses when used with a radiotracer that is actively metabolized by cells as fuel.

San Antonio, Texas (June 6, 2011)—A study revealed at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting is comparing the breast-tumor detection capabilities of two very different imaging technologies—breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI), which provides functional images of breast physiology, and ultrasound—for women with complex breast imaging cases that require further evaluation. Many women who have dense breast tissue (radiodense breasts) are difficult to image using mammography, currently the gold standard of breast imaging.

Individuals with cancer often do not die as a result of their initial tumor but as a result of tumors at distant sites that are derived from the initial tumor. Pregnancy is a condition that seems to be permissive for tumor dissemination, as breast tumors arising during pregnancy display a tendency for early spread to distant sites (metastasis). Research in mice, led by Ivan Stamenkovic, at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, has now uncovered a possible reason for this.