From: drarwingnuttephd@gmail.com   
      
   29-Oct-2014    
      
      
   Contact: Linda Brooks    
   lbrooks@rsna.org    
   630-590-7762    
   Radiological Society of North America    
      
   MRI identifies brain abnormalities in chronic fatigue syndrome patients    
      
      
                                        
                        
      
    IMAGE: This reconstructed MR image shows the right arcuate (blue tracks and   
   arrows) and ILFs (yellow tracks and arrows) in a single representative   
   subject. These two tracks are overlaid on their...    
   Click here for more information.    
                
                                        
      
   OAK BROOK, Ill. - Researchers using a combination of different imaging   
   techniques have found structural abnormalities in the brains of people with   
   chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), according to a new study published online in   
   the journal Radiology. The    
   results suggest a potential role for imaging in diagnosing and treating the   
   condition.    
      
   CFS is characterized by profound fatigue and "brain fog" that do not improve   
   with bed rest, lasting for at least six months. The condition affects more   
   than 1 million adults and children in the United States, according to the   
   Centers for Disease Control    
   and Prevention. Diagnosis is complicated and usually involves ruling out many   
   other conditions. There is no standalone test to diagnose CFS.    
      
   "This is a very common and debilitating disease," said the study lead author   
   Michael M. Zeineh, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of radiology at Stanford   
   University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif. "It's very frustrating for   
   patients, because they    
   feel tired and are experiencing difficulty thinking, and the science has yet   
   to determine what has gone wrong."    
      
   For the new study, Dr. Zeineh worked with a Stanford CFS and infectious   
   disease expert, Jose G. Montoya, M.D., to perform magnetic resonance imaging   
   (MRI) on 15 CFS patients and 14 age- and gender-matched controls. They applied   
   three different MRI    
   techniques: volumetric analysis to measure the size of different compartments   
   of the brain, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess the integrity of the   
   signal-carrying white matter tracts of the brain, and arterial spin labeling   
   (ASL) to measure blood    
   flow.    
      
   When they compared results between the CFS patients and the controls, they   
   found that the CFS group had slightly lower white matter volume, meaning there   
   was less overall white matter in the brain. The CFS group also had abnormally   
   high fractional    
   anisotropy (FA) values--a DTI measure of the diffusion of water-- in a   
   specific white matter tract called the right arcuate fasciculus, suggesting   
   something was going on in the white matter in the right hemisphere.    
      
   "Within CFS patients, right anterior arcuate FA increased with disease   
   severity," Dr. Zeineh said. "The differences correlated with their   
   fatigue--the more abnormal the tract, the worse the fatigue."    
      
   The results suggest that FA at the right arcuate fasciculus may serve as a   
   biomarker for CFS that can help track the disease.    
      
   The imaging study also found abnormalities among CFS patients at the two   
   points in the brain that connect the right arcuate fasciculus. Each connection   
   point, known as a cortex, was thicker in CFS patients.    
      
      
                                        
                        
      
    IMAGE: Superimposed on the inflated atlas brain image are regions of   
   right-hemisphere increased cortical thickness in patients with CFS compared   
   with control subjects after accounting for differences in age and   
   handedness...    
   Click here for more information.    
                
                                        
      
   "This is the first study to look at white matter tracts in CFS and correlate   
   them with cortical findings," Dr. Zeineh said. "It's not something you could   
   see with conventional imaging."    
      
   Although the study involved only 15 CFS patients, the technique already shows   
   tremendous promise as a diagnostic tool for identifying people with CFS,   
   according to Dr. Zeineh.    
      
   "We used automated techniques to look at these tracts and were able to achieve   
   80 percent accuracy for CFS detection," he said.    
      
   Dr. Zeineh added that the findings need to be replicated and expanded upon in   
   future studies to refine understanding of the relationship between brain   
   structure and CFS.    
      
   ###    
      
   "Right Arcuate Fasciculus Abnormality in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome."   
   Collaborating with Drs. Zeineh and Montoya were James Kang, M.D., Scott W.   
   Atlas, M.D., Mira M. Raman, M.S., Allan L. Reiss, M.D., Jane L Norris, P.A.,   
   and Ian Valencia, B.S.    
      
   Radiology is edited by Herbert Y. Kressel, M.D., Harvard Medical School,   
   Boston, Mass., and owned and published by the Radiological Society of North   
   America, Inc.    
      
   RSNA is an association of more than 53,000 radiologists, radiation   
   oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists promoting excellence in   
   patient care and health care delivery through education, research and   
   technologic innovation. The Society is    
   based in Oak Brook, Ill. (RSNA.org)    
      
   For patient-friendly information on MRI of the brain, visit Radi   
   logyInfo.orgRadiologyInfo.org.    
      
   Celebrate International Day of Radiology    
      
   November 8, 2014 - the 119th anniversary of the X-ray    
      
   The International Day of Radiology is building greater awareness of the value   
   that radiology research, diagnosis and treatment contribute to safe patient   
   care, and better understanding of the vital role radiologists perform in   
   healthcare delivery. This    
   year's theme is brain imaging. Visit IDOR 2014 to learn more.    
      
      
   http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-10/rson-mib102314.php   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)