A team of investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a low-cost, compact, portable and low-power "head only" MRI scanner that is aimed at overcoming the disadvantages of an MRI scanner. The prototype of the portable MRI scanner presently weighs 230kg and the cart can be pushed by a single person for transport. The scanner is able to generate 3-D brain images within 10 minutes. The team hopes that the portable scanner could prove beneficial in bedside imaging and also in locations where the MRI is unavailable.
News
Nov 26, 2020
A recent news release suggests that, members of an influential federal panel delved into the challenges ahead in deciding who will get the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including questions about which healthcare workers need those initial vaccinations the most. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not take any votes or seek to establish formal positions. Instead, the meeting served as a forum for experts to discuss the thorny issues ahead. The US Food and Drug Administration could make a decision next month regarding clearance for the first COVID-19 vaccine.
Nov 26, 2020
Researchers reported in Nature that tiny organ-like structures grown in the laboratory to behave like human lungs and colons can be used to rapidly screen drugs and identify those with potential as COVID-19 treatments. Compared with traditional pre-clinical approaches, in which drugs are tested in cells from monkeys or from human cancer patients, these organoids more faithfully mimic the complex cell types and structure of human tissues, according to Dr. Shuibing Chen and Dr. Robert Schwartz of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.
Journal Abstracts
Nov 28, 2020
Dagmar Grob et.al. conducted a retrospective analysis to compare nodule enhancement on subtraction CT iodine maps to that on dual-energy CT iodine maps. For the analysis, datasets of lung subtraction and dual-energy CT maps from 30 patients with 95 solid pulmonary nodules were used and it was seen that nodule enhancement at subtraction CT was “highly visible”. From the comparison, it could be inferred that subtraction CT is superior to dual-energy CT in depicting iodine enhancement in pulmonary nodules.
Nov 26, 2020
Alex Straumann et.al. conducted a double-blind trial on 204 adults with eosinophilic esophagitis to determine whether budesonide is effective in maintaining the remission of the disease achieved by the administration of the same drug. The study also compared the efficacy of 2 dosages of the drug, 0.5 mg twice daily and 1.0 mg twice daily. Persistent remission was observed in 73.5% and 75% of patients in the 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg groups respectively indicating the higher efficacy of the drug in maintaining remission.
Nov 25, 2020
Flaminia Campo et.al. conducted a study to evaluate the accuracy of preoperative evaluation of vocal fold leukoplakia with Narrow band imaging endoscopy in comparison with histology. The researchers concluded that narrow band imaging can help otolaryngologists in the decision-making process on the necessity to perform a biopsy and transoral surgery or long-term follow-up.
Recent Articles
Nov 28, 2020
Dagmar Grob et.al. conducted a retrospective analysis to compare nodule enhancement on subtraction CT iodine maps to that on dual-energy CT iodine maps. For the analysis, datasets of lung subtraction and dual-energy CT maps from 30 patients with 95 solid pulmonary nodules were used and it was seen that nodule enhancement at subtraction CT was “highly visible”. From the comparison, it could be inferred that subtraction CT is superior to dual-energy CT in depicting iodine enhancement in pulmonary nodules.
Nov 26, 2020
According to data released on Tuesday from a clinical trial in Argentina, using blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors to treat patients with severe pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus showed little benefit. The therapy know as convalescent plasma, which delivers antibodies from COVID-19 survivors to infected people, did not significantly improve patients' health status or reduce their risk of dying from the disease any better than a placebo, the study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found.
Nov 26, 2020
A recent news release suggests that, members of an influential federal panel delved into the challenges ahead in deciding who will get the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including questions about which healthcare workers need those initial vaccinations the most. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not take any votes or seek to establish formal positions. Instead, the meeting served as a forum for experts to discuss the thorny issues ahead. The US Food and Drug Administration could make a decision next month regarding clearance for the first COVID-19 vaccine.
Clinical Research
Jun 01, 2020
The purpose of this study is to find the most effective dose of radiation therapy to give to breast tumors in a shorter period of time, prior to standard partial mastectomy/axillary surgery.
Jun 01, 2020
This research study is being done to understand how patients with chronic cancer pain take their long-acting opioid medications and to develop an intervention to enhance cancer pain management.
Feb 27, 2020
Christopher G. Brennan-Jones et.al. identified specific strategies which have shown effectiveness in reducing workplace noise. These include implementation of stricter legislation and also stress upon the need for training in the proper use of earplugs and earmuffs so as to reduce noise exposure to safe levels.
Publications
Jun 26, 2020
In patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), a once-daily oral regimen of ibrutinib and venetoclax was associated with deep molecular remissions in both bone marrow and peripheral blood, including in patients with high-risk disease, according to investigators in phase 2 CAPTIVATE MRD trial.
Jun 04, 2020
Georgios Tsakonas et.al. conducted a study to understand the alterations in gene expression in brain metastasis versus primary tumour as it may increase aggressiveness and impair therapeutic efforts. The researchers concluded identified a unique gene downregulation pattern in brain metastases compared with primary tumours. This finding may explain the lower intracranial efficacy of systemic therapy, especially immunotherapy, in brain metastasis of patients with non–small-cell lung cancer.
Jun 01, 2020
Advance in Cancer Prevention addresses all types of cancer, how cancer forms in the body, and their prevention. It focuses on Cancer Vaccines, Chemotherapy, Radioactive Iodine Therapy, Breast Reconstruction Surgery, Mammography, Chemoprevention, aromatase inhibitors, Scintimammography, Oncoplastic surgery, Sumoylation, Dietary Supplements, Cancer Screening, Cancer and Nutrition, Exercise and Cancer, Alternative Cancer Medicines, Stem cell transplants for cancer prevention, Naturopathic Treatments, Clinical Naturopathy, Cancer Prevention from nuts.
Videos
Oct 21, 2020
A 30-year-old female presented with rapid onset of acute dysarthria and left oculomotor paralysis. The MRI showed ruptured anterior midbrain cavernoma. A conservative approach was adopted as the patient was stable. However, one month later she experienced a new bleed with right hemiparesis, diplopia and severe dysarthria. The haemorrhage extended to the surface of the midbrain anteriorly and extended posteriorly without reaching the surface of the safe entry zone. The approach to a cavernous malformation via safe zones are not always feasible due to the proximity of several critical neural structures as in this case. The resection via a posterolateral route using the supracerebellar infratentorial approach was performed successfully.
Oct 21, 2020
A 30-year-old female presented with rapid onset of acute dysarthria and left oculomotor paralysis. The MRI showed ruptured anterior midbrain cavernoma. A conservative approach was adopted as the patient was stable. However, one month later she experienced a new bleed with right hemiparesis, diplopia and severe dysarthria. The haemorrhage extended to the surface of the midbrain anteriorly and extended posteriorly without reaching the surface of the safe entry zone. The approach to a cavernous malformation via safe zones are not always feasible due to the proximity of several critical neural structures as in this case. The resection via a posterolateral route using the supracerebellar infratentorial approach was performed successfully.
Jul 17, 2020
As many as half of patients diagnosed with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer will see their cancer spread to their brain. Though brain metastases, or "Brain Mets," are rare, they are exceedingly difficult to treat, so these patients experience poor outcomes. At this year’s ASCO meeting, Dr. Nancy Lin of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute presented promising results from the HER2CLIMB trial for these patients. In this video BCRF talks with Dr. Lin about her research focus, Brain Mets, and HER2CLIMB’s findings.
Jul 10, 2020
Watch Dr. Jamie Studts discuss the quality implementation of lung cancer screening and share his thoughts on optimizing community-based implementation.
Case Studies
Nov 28, 2020
Hee Joong Lim et.al. report the case of a 61-year-old man who presented with left flank pain. A contrast-enhanced CT revealed near-complete infarction of the left kidney and thrombotic occlusion at the left proximal renal artery. This was confirmed by renal artery angiogram. Interventional radiology treatment was planned for the patient and he underwent cannulation of the occluded segment and thrombolysis which led to the resolution of the patient's symptoms.
Nov 28, 2020
PeiPei Yang et.al. report the imaging and clinical features of a rare case of myopericytoma of the breast in a 63-year-old woman who presented with a mass in the left breast. Sonographic examination revealed 2 well-demarcated adjacent solid masses with prominent color signals in color doppler flow imaging. The lesions exhibited enhancement from the periphery to the center in contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging. An ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy was done to find out the histological nature of the lesions. Subsequently, she underwent surgical excision of the masses.
Nov 26, 2020
Shaadi Abughazaleh et.al. presented a case of a 35-year-old female with pulmonary arterial hypertension who presented with complaints of progressively worsening dysphagia, facial swelling, and shortness of breath, was found to have a large goiter. In patients treated with epoprostenol for long periods of time, thyroid disease is common. Most cases of thyroid disease describe thyrotoxicosis and hyperthyroid statues, but this case was a patient on long term IV epoprostenol presenting with a superior vena cava-syndrome like appearance and airway compromise found to have a goiter incidentally during workup.
Nov 26, 2020
Mrabet S et.al. report the rare occurrence of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in a patient with a history of chronic hepatitis B with cirrhosis. The patient presented with abdominal pain associated with significant weight loss. CT revealed 3 hypodense hepatic nodules as well as multiple diffuse secondary pulmonary micronodules. Liver biopsy from a liver nodule showed infiltration of the hepatic parenchyma by lymphoid proliferation with large and medium cells, with atypical nuclei and mitoses. Based on the findings a diagnosis of primary hepatic NHL stage IV was made.