The 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America
The annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America was held from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 in Chicago, and attracted more than 55,000 participants from around the world, including radiologists, radiation oncologists, physicists in medicine, radiologic technologists, and other health care professionals. The conference featured approximately 3,000 scientific presentations and posters covering the newest trends in radiological research as well as more than 2,100 education and informatics exhibits.
Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues found that eating baked or broiled fish reduced the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
"Using magnetic resonance images of the brain, we found larger gray matter volumes in a study of 260 cognitively normal, older adults (mean age, 78 years), of whom 163 consumed baked or broiled fish on a weekly basis. This brain benefit of eating baked or broiled fish also reduced the risk for five-year decline to mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease three- to five-fold," Raji said. "It is important for practicing clinicians to inform patients that only baked or broiled fish can provide these benefits because they have the maximum amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Fried fish does not provide these benefits, as fried fish is high in cholesterol and low in omega-3s."
Abstract
In another study, Michael L. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues evaluated adult soccer players who took part in a wide range of heading frequencies over a previous 12-month period. Players ranged in the amount of heading they experienced, from nothing to more than 5,000 times per year.
"We evaluated these players using diffusion tensor imaging and found that players who headed the most showed similar brain abnormalities as patients who had a concussion or mild trauma to the brain. We found a significant difference in brain abnormalities between those players who took part in the most heading (top 25 percent) versus those who performed less heading in the previous 12 months," Lipton said.
The investigators identified a non-linear relationship between the amount of heading and brain abnormalities.
"We identified a certain point or threshold below which players were less likely to have the imaging abnormalities similar to brain injuries. If players went above that threshold of heading, they were at a higher risk of brain abnormalities," Lipton added.
Abstract
Miriam A. Bredella, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues found that obesity does not always protect against osteoporosis as previously thought, and that abdominal obesity was associated with low growth hormone secretion.
"Giving low-dose growth hormone to abdominally-obese women (to get it back to normal levels) was beneficial to bone health (it increased bone formation) and also reduced abdominal fat and increased muscle mass," Bredella said. "The key conclusion was that over one-third of young, otherwise healthy women with abdominal obesity had osteopenia/osteoporosis and that [returning] growth hormone to normal levels was beneficial to bone health."
The investigators also found that women who lost a lot of abdominal fat had increased bone formation, suggesting that losing abdominal fat may improve bone health.
"Giving growth hormone could also be applied to the aging population -- with aging, growth hormone decreases and we get weaker bones. Low-dose growth hormone replacement could improve bone health in the aging population," Bredella said.
Abstract
Vincent P. Mathews, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, and colleagues found that longer-term changes in brain function occurred after one week of violent video game playing.
"Subjects who played a violent video game for one week demonstrated decreased activity in brain regions involved in attention, inhibition, and decision as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subjects who did not play any video games did not show these changes. The changes returned toward baseline, but did not completely normalize, after a second week of not playing violent video games," Mathews said. "People who play violent video games should be aware that changes in brain function may be associated with this activity."
Several authors disclosed financial relationships with various pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Abstract
RSNA: Gender Impacts Cardiac CT Angiography ID'd CVD Risk
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of cardiovascular disease predicted by the presence, extent, and composition of atherosclerotic plaque on cardiac computed tomography angiography (CTA) differs significantly between men and women, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, held from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 in Chicago.
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RSNA: Family History Doesn't Affect Breast Cancer Rates
TUESDAY, Nov. 29 (HealthDay News) -- For women aged 40 to 49 years, having a family history of breast cancer (FHBC) does not impact the rate of invasive, noninvasive, or lymph node metastatic breast cancer, according to a study being presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, held from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 in Chicago.
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RSNA: Brain's Functional Connectivity Impaired in ADHD
MONDAY, Nov. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brains of children with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show disturbances in the functional connectivity between the visual sensory cortex and the prefrontal cortex, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, held from Nov. 27 to Dec 2 in Chicago.
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