WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) — Repeated use of specific “linear”-type gadolinium-based contrast agents, or GBCAs, for MRIs leads to deposits of the heavy metal gadolinium in the brain, according to a new study. The agents have been widely used in MRIs since their approval in 1988, with roughly 30 million doses given each year. “This important safety issue may lead to certain linear GBCAs not being used in the future,” said Val M. Runge, M.D., of University Hospital Zurich, in a press release. Runge, editor-in-chief of the journal Investigative Radiology, which published the study, first proposed the concept of using gadolinium as a contrast agent in 1982 and demonstrated the effectiveness of the first GBCA developed in 1984. “All of the currently approved GBCAs should be evaluated by the methods used” in this study, he added. {read more here}

A form of ‘virtual-reality’ therapy may help people with alcohol dependence reduce their craving for alcohol, a new study suggests.

The findings, published in the July issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, come from a small study of just 10 patients. But researchers said they are optimistic about the potential for virtual reality as a therapy for alcohol use disorders. {read more here}

In patients with indeterminate traditional fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET scans, early amyloid PET could lead to earlier treatment, and the preservation of cognitive function, in up to one-sixth of patients, new research suggests. {read more here}

New research indicates that PET imaging with the radiotracer florbetaben can detect a form of beta-amyloid plaque that develops early in the brain. The findings could possibly lead to the earlier detection of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as new clinical indications for florbetaben. {read more here}