PET images show how weight-loss surgery can curb alterations in brain activity associated with obesity and improve cognitive function involved in planning, strategizing, and organizing.  The new study, published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, is the first to assess brain activity in women before and after bariatric surgery (JCEM, August 26, 2014). {read more here}

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – PET-CT is taking center stage in a new consensus statement from the International Conference on Malignant Lymphomas Imaging Working Group.

“Key recommendations in the updated international guidelines include the routine use of PET-CT for staging of FDG-avid lymphomas in place of CT and assessment of remission status using the Five Point scale (also referred to as the Deauville criteria),” said lead author Dr. Sally F. Barrington of St Thomas’ Hospital in London. {read more here}

Carnegie Mellon University launched an initiative dubbed CMU BrainHub aimed at learning how the structure and activity of the brain can give rise to complex behaviors. Through this initiative, researchers hope to shed light on topics such as cognition, learning, and perception as well as on brain disorders such as autism and Parkinson’s disease. {read more here}

In a direct visual and quantitative comparison of F-18 FET and F-18 DOPA in primary glioma, FET provided more quantitative characterization, but both were successful for tumor delineation, according to a review published Aug. 14 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine . {read more here}