Canadian researchers examined PET and structural MRI scans from individuals with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease and found that degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain, which supplies acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter important for normal brain function, to the outer cortex, prompted the degeneration of cortex areas receiving cholinergic inputs. {read more here}

Deep learning can classify bone lesions found on F-18 sodium fluoride (NaF) PET/CT exams, potentially enabling monitoring of individual lesions and faster interpretation times, according to research presented recently at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) annual meeting in Philadelphia. {read more here}

Researchers who used microPET imaging found that chronically implanted microcannulas improved targeted drug delivery in the deep brain structures of rodent models, while microcannulas with micropumps enabled remote control of their behavior, with differences in infused drug volume significantly affecting induced behavior despite unchanged total drug dose delivered. {read more here}

“Our results provide the potential clinical utility of machine-learning algorithms to improve the use of PET radiomics features to predict clinical outcome,” said presenter Jihyun Kim, also of Asan Medical School in Seoul, South Korea. {read more here}