Scientists say they have identified the underlying reason why some people are prone to the winter blues, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD).  Using positron emission tomography (PET) brain scans, they were able to show significant summer-to-winter differences in the levels of the serotonin transporter (SERT) protein in Sad patients. {read more here}

A study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has identified for the first time changes in the metabolic activity of a key brain region in patients successfully treated for depression with psychodynamic psychotherapy, suggesting a mechanism of action behind one of the most historically important and widely practiced forms of therapy. They also found evidence that pretreatment metabolism in a different brain structure might predict which patients are likely to respond to that form of therapy. Their report will appear in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics and has been issued online. {read more here}

Infections related to heart valve prosthesis are usually diagnosed with echocardiography, but it can miss key areas of infection. It is here that FDG PET or leukocute scintigraphy can step in, but a recent comparison study of the two nuclear medicine procedures published Nov. 13 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that FDG PET may be the best option. {read more here}

More than half of surveyed referring physicians said that F-18 FDG PET/CT scans were being clinically misinterpreted in somewhere between 5 percent and 20 percent of cases, according to a study published Nov. 7 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine . {read more here}