PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Experts offer pointers for optimizing radiation dose in pediatric CT

2012-01-09
(Press-News.org) An article in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology summarizes methods for radiation dose optimization in pediatric computed tomography (CT) scans. Approximately seven to eight million CT examinations are performed for various pediatric clinical indications per year in the United States.

Justification of clinical indication is the most important aspect of reducing radiation dose with CT scanning. A substantial number of pediatric CT scans lack appropriate justification or can be replaced with other imaging modalities with lower or no ionizing radiation, such as radiography, ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which can provide similar diagnostic information for some clinical conditions.

"When not clinically indicated, not performing a CT examination is certainly the best radiation dose reduction strategy. However, when a CT scan is indicated, there are steps that can be taken to optimize the dose that children receive. It's important that all imaging providers take these steps as indicated," said Mannudeep K. Kalra, MD, author of the article.

Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, in Boston, MA, and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, reviewed practical strategies for reducing radiation dose associated with pediatric CT examinations.

"Radiation dose reduction in children starts with the optimization of pediatric CT protocols. CT protocols should be strictly optimized on the basis of body size, body region, clinical indication and the availability of prior imaging," said Mahadevappa Mahesh, MS, PhD, author of the article.

Additional steps include using a lower tube current (and voltage), restricting the scan length to include only the region of interest and using new techniques of image post-processing and reconstruction.

"Children are more sensitive to radiation-induced risks and need special attention. Therefore, while designing CT protocols, it is crucial to keep clinical indications, weight and prior available imaging in mind to optimize radiation dose," said Mahesh.

### For more information about radiation safety in children, visit http://www.imagegently.org.

For more information about radiation safety in adults, visit http://www.imagewisely.org.

For more information about JACR, visit http://www.jacr.org.

To receive an electronic copy of an article appearing in the JACR, or to set up an interview with a JACR author, please contact Heather Curry at 703-390-9822 or PR@acr.org.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

The nuclear, biological and climate threat - 2011 reviewed

2012-01-09
In this special issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, experts reflect on 2011 and highlight what to look out for in 2012 in the areas of nuclear energy, nuclear weapons, biosecurity, and climate change. Topics that have made the headlines during the previous 12 months, including the increased tension surrounding Iran's nuclear programme, the aftermath of the Fukushima incident, and the state of US policy on climate change, are analyzed in detail in this special issue. At the Doomsday Clock Symposium on January 9-10 in Washington, DC, the Bulletin's ...

Salk scientists map the frontiers of vision

2012-01-09
There's a 3-D world in our brains. It's a landscape that mimics the outside world, where the objects we see exist as collections of neural circuits and electrical impulses. Now, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies are using new tools they developed to chart that world, a key step in revolutionizing research into the neurological basis of vision. For the first time, the scientists have produced neuron-by-neuron maps of the regions of the mouse brain that process different kinds of visual information, laying the groundwork for decoding the circuitry ...

Tiny worm points to big promise

2012-01-09
Two related studies from Northwestern University offer new strategies for tackling the challenges of preventing and treating diseases of protein folding, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cancer, cystic fibrosis and type 2 diabetes. To do its job properly within the cell, a protein first must fold itself into the proper shape. If it doesn't, trouble can result. More than 300 diseases have at their root proteins that misfold, aggregate and eventually cause cellular dysfunction and death. The new Northwestern ...

Tobacco company misrepresented danger from cigarettes

Tobacco company misrepresented danger from cigarettes
2012-01-09
A new UCSF analysis of tobacco industry documents shows that Philip Morris USA manipulated data on the effects of additives in cigarettes, including menthol, obscuring actual toxicity levels and increasing the risk of heart, cancer and other diseases for smokers. Tobacco industry information can't be taken at face value, the researchers conclude. They say their work provides evidence that hundreds of additives, including menthol, should be eliminated from cigarettes on public health grounds. The article is published in PLoS Medicine http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001145 In ...

Majority groups support assimilation -- except when they're not majorities

2012-01-09
We generally think that views about how to integrate a diverse society depend on people's positions in that society—that is, whether they're in the racial, religious, or cultural majority or a member of a minority. In the U.S., "people tend to believe that blacks prefer pluralism and whites prefer assimilation," says University of Delaware psychologist Eric Hehman. Assimilation asks minorities—whether newly arrived or historically rooted—to drop their cultural identities and adopt the ways of the majority. Pluralism recognizes and even celebrates minority cultures, which ...

Better research is needed to understand why elders are happier

2012-01-09
Older people tend to be happier. But why? Some psychologists believe that cognitive processes are responsible—in particular, focusing on and remembering positive events and leaving behind negative ones; those processes, they think, help older people regulate their emotions, letting them view life in a sunnier light. "There is a lot of good theory about this age difference in happiness," says psychologist Derek M. Isaacowitz of Northeastern University, "but much of the research does not provide direct evidence" of the links between such phenomena and actual happiness. In ...

UF research on newly formed plants could lead to improved crop fertility

2012-01-09
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new University of Florida study shows genomes of a recently formed plant species to be highly unstable, a phenomenon that may have far-reaching evolutionary consequences. Published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study is the first to document chromosomal variation in natural populations of a recently formed plant species following whole genome doubling, or polyploidy. Because many agricultural crops are young polyploids, the data may be used to develop plants with higher fertility and yields. Polyploid ...

A decade of research proves PET effectively detects dementia

2012-01-09
Reston, Va. (December 28, 2011) – In a new review of imaging studies spanning more than ten years, scientists find that a method of positron emission tomography (PET) safely and accurately detects dementia, including the most common and devastating form among the elderly, Alzheimer's disease. This research is featured in the January issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Researchers reviewed numerous PET studies to evaluate a molecular imaging technique that combines PET, which provides functional images of biological processes, with an injected biomarker called 18F-FDG ...

Uninsured receive same quantity, value of imaging services as insured in hospital, in-patient setting

2012-01-09
Insurance status doesn't affect the quantity (or value) of imaging services received by patients in a hospital, in-patient setting, according to a study in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. Approximately 51 million Americans, or 16.7 percent of the population, were without health insurance for some or all of 2009. Lack of insurance is associated with less preventive care, delays in diagnosis and unnecessary deaths. "Americans without health insurance generally receive fewer health care services than those with insurance. Less ...

Scientists refute Greenpeace claim that genetically modified corn caused new insect pest

2012-01-09
An article in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Integrated Pest Management (JIPM) refutes claims by Greenpeace Germany that the western bean cutworm (WBC), Striacosta albicosta (Smith), is "a new plant pest" that was "caused by genetically engineered corn." The Greenpeace Germany report, which was written by author Christoph Then of Testbiotech, offers a "surprisingly simplistic conclusion" regarding the spread of western bean cutworm over the last decade, according to the JIPM authors. In "Genetically Engineered Bt Corn and Range Expansion of the Western Bean Cutworm ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Intra-arterial tenecteplase for acute stroke after successful endovascular therapy

Study reveals beneficial microbes that can sustain yields in unfertilized fields

Robotic probe quickly measures key properties of new materials

Climate change cuts milk production, even when farmers cool their cows

Frozen, but not sealed: Arctic Ocean remained open to life during ice ages

Some like it cold: Cryorhodopsins

Demystifying gut bacteria with AI

Human wellbeing on a finite planet towards 2100: new study shows humanity at a crossroads

Unlocking the hidden biodiversity of Europe’s villages

Planned hydrogen refuelling stations may lead to millions of euros in yearly losses

Planned C-sections increase the risk of certain childhood cancers

Adults who have survived childhood cancer are at increased risk of severe COVID-19

Drones reveal extreme coral mortality after bleaching

New genetic finding uncovers hidden cause of arsenic resistance in acute promyelocytic leukemia

Native habitats hold the key to the much-loved smashed avocado’s future

Using lightning to make ammonia out of thin air

Machine learning potential-driven insights into pH-dependent CO₂ reduction

Physician associates provide safe care for diagnosed patients when directly supervised by a doctor

How game-play with robots can bring out their human side

Asthma: patient expectations influence the course of the disease

UNM physician tests drug that causes nerve tissue to emit light, enabling faster, safer surgery

New study identifies EMP1 as a key driver of pancreatic cancer progression and poor prognosis

XPR1 identified as a key regulator of ovarian cancer growth through autophagy and immune evasion

Flexible, eco-friendly electronic plastic for wearable tech, sensors

Can the Large Hadron Collider snap string theory?

Stuckeman professor’s new book explores ‘socially sustainable’ architecture

Synthetic DNA nanoparticles for gene therapy

New model to find treatments for an aggressive blood cancer

Special issue of Journal of Intensive Medicine analyzes non-invasive respiratory support

T cells take aim at Chikungunya virus

[Press-News.org] Experts offer pointers for optimizing radiation dose in pediatric CT