A statistical method for integrating functional MRI (fMRI) and PET scans may prove capable of predicting success of surgery to reduce seizures in epilepsy patients. {read more here}

The more tau accumulation in the brain, the greater the likelihood that neuroimaging will reveal similarly elevated levels of brain beta amyloid. However, the buildup of these proteins does not affect the cognitive status of patients with Parkinson’s disease, according to a PET-based study published online Dec. 11 in JAMA Neurology. {read more here}

In the December featured basic science article in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Belgian researchers report on the first large-scale longitudinal imaging study to evaluate BACE1 inhibition with micro-PET in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. PET imaging has been established as an excellent identifier of the amyloid plaque and tau tangles that characterize Alzheimer’s disease. Now it is proving to be an effective way to gauge treatment effectiveness.  {read more here}

South Korean researchers have used a budding machine-learning technique to generate high-quality structural MR images from amyloid PET scans of dementia patients’ brains. They were then able to quantify cortical amyloid load from these MR-less images, which may open the door to ordering PET scans alone for numerous imaging scenarios in which PET/MR is now a preferred diagnostic pathway. {read more here}