Magnetic resonance imaging

Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Neupro, rotigotine, Date of authorisation: 15/02/2006, Revision: 32, Status: Authorised

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 4, 2024

Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Neupro, rotigotine, Date of authorisation: 15/02/2006, Revision: 32, Status: Authorised

Key Points: 


Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Neupro, rotigotine, Date of authorisation: 15/02/2006, Revision: 32, Status: Authorised

Vigil Neuroscience Provides 2023 Year-in-Review and Highlights Upcoming 2024 Milestones

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 3, 2024

WATERTOWN, Mass., Jan. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vigil Neuroscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIGL), a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to harnessing the power of microglia for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, today provided a 2023 year-in-review and outlined key milestones anticipated in 2024. The Company also today announced that it has extended its projected cash runway into the second half of 2025.

Key Points: 
  • ET -
    WATERTOWN, Mass., Jan. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vigil Neuroscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIGL), a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to harnessing the power of microglia for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, today provided a 2023 year-in-review and outlined key milestones anticipated in 2024.
  • “2023 marked a year of persistent advancement and landmark achievements for the Company,” said Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, Ph.D., J.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Vigil.
  • “Most notably, we were the first company to demonstrate clinical data supporting TREM2 agonism as a potential therapeutic approach in neurodegenerative disease.
  • “We enter 2024 well-positioned to achieve our planned value-driving milestones across our development pipeline,” concluded Dr. Magovčević-Liebisch.

Radiation therapy takes advantage of cancer's poor DNA repair abilities – an oncologist and physicist explain how

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Wednesday, January 3, 2024

Ionizing radiation, or the emission of high-energy waves or particles, works as a therapy by damaging a cancer cell’s DNA.

Key Points: 
  • Ionizing radiation, or the emission of high-energy waves or particles, works as a therapy by damaging a cancer cell’s DNA.
  • It’s an effective tool for killing cancer cells because they are generally much less adept at DNA repair compared to healthy cells.
  • Damaging specific parts of DNA prevents cancer cells from reproducing, effectively killing them.

Fundamentals of radiation therapy

  • At the heart of radiation therapy lies the fundamental principle that cancer cells are more susceptible to radiation than healthy cells.
  • Sometimes resistance to radiation in cancer cells may be comparable or even greater than that of their neighboring cells.
  • When tumors lie close to vital organs that are highly sensitive to radiation, such as the brain or the bowels, it significantly limits the amount of radiation that can be delivered.

External beam radiation therapy

  • External beam radiation involves directing radiation from an outside source to a single part of the body.
  • Another form of radiotherapy is proton beam therapy, or PBT, which directs protons instead of X-rays at tumors.

Image-guided radiation therapy

  • By acting as the eyes of the care team, imaging reduced uncertainty about the location of tumors and improved the precision and accuracy of radiation therapy.
  • Newer linear accelerators are now incorporating MRIs, which significantly improve visualization of patient anatomy and tumors, further advancing treatment precision and accuracy.


Researchers are also adding positron emission tomography, or PET, scanners that provide information about the metabolic function of tumors. This advance makes it possible to increase the radiation dose specifically at the most active areas of tumors.

Adaptive therapy

  • An emerging approach to radiation therapy called adaptive therapy uses imaging to dynamically adjust treatment as the tumor or its positioning changes each day.
  • However, adaptive therapy may apply several adjustments or lead to a completely new treatment plan in order to address changes to the tumor’s condition over the course of treatment.
  • The fact that the process needs to be repeated multiple times renders adaptive therapy particularly resource-intensive and time-consuming.

Brachytherapy

  • Brachytherapy – stemming from the Greek word “brachys,” meaning “short” – is another widely used method in radiation therapy.
  • In contrast to external beam radiation therapy, where radiation often must pass through healthy tissue to reach cancer cells, brachytherapy applies radiation directly to the tumor.
  • The conventional approach to brachytherapy involved using needles to place or inject radioactive seeds inside or adjacent to the cancerous tissue.
  • An increasingly popular form of brachytherapy called high-dose rate brachytherapy involves using a tube to guide a more highly radioactive seed directly to the affected tissue before removing it after a few minutes.

Future of radiation therapy

  • Researchers are also exploring treatments using ions heavier than protons to more effectively damage DNA in cancer cells and enhance the efficacy of radiation therapy.
  • Advances in the field hint at a future of more personalized radiation therapy, highlighting the fusion of technology and medical expertise in the fight against cancer.


The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

IRADIMED CORPORATION To Present at the 42nd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

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Tuesday, January 2, 2024

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla., Jan. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IRADIMED CORPORATION (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: IRMD), a leader in developing innovative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (“MRI”) compatible medical devices, today announced that the Company will be participating in the upcoming 42nd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

Key Points: 
  • WINTER SPRINGS, Fla., Jan. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IRADIMED CORPORATION (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: IRMD), a leader in developing innovative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (“MRI”) compatible medical devices, today announced that the Company will be participating in the upcoming 42nd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
  • Iradimed’s CEO, Roger Susi, is scheduled to present on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
  • Interested parties may access a live and archived webcast of the presentation on the “Events and Presentations” section of the Company’s investor website at https://www.iradimed.com/investors/events .

Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Erelzi, etanercept, Date of authorisation: 23/06/2017, Revision: 14, Status: Authorised

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Erelzi, etanercept, Date of authorisation: 23/06/2017, Revision: 14, Status: Authorised

Key Points: 


Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Erelzi, etanercept, Date of authorisation: 23/06/2017, Revision: 14, Status: Authorised

Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Benepali, etanercept, Date of authorisation: 13/01/2016, Revision: 22, Status: Authorised

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Benepali, etanercept, Date of authorisation: 13/01/2016, Revision: 22, Status: Authorised

Key Points: 


Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Benepali, etanercept, Date of authorisation: 13/01/2016, Revision: 22, Status: Authorised

Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Tysabri, natalizumab, Date of authorisation: 27/06/2006, Revision: 42, Status: Authorised

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Tysabri, natalizumab, Date of authorisation: 27/06/2006, Revision: 42, Status: Authorised

Key Points: 


Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Tysabri, natalizumab, Date of authorisation: 27/06/2006, Revision: 42, Status: Authorised

Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Nepexto, etanercept, Date of authorisation: 20/05/2020, Revision: 12, Status: Authorised

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Nepexto, etanercept, Date of authorisation: 20/05/2020, Revision: 12, Status: Authorised

Key Points: 


Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Nepexto, etanercept, Date of authorisation: 20/05/2020, Revision: 12, Status: Authorised

Magnets, mating and metallic objects – cautionary tales from the MRI scanner

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, December 30, 2023

She had attended the hospital for an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan and had entered the machine with a concealed firearm.

Key Points: 
  • She had attended the hospital for an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan and had entered the machine with a concealed firearm.
  • This isn’t the first time in 2023 that a firearm injury has been sustained in an MRI scanner.
  • In February a lawyer in Brazil died after the gun tucked in his waistband discharged into his abdomen.
  • MRI has a long history, in one form or another, dating back to the 1930s.

Strong magnets

  • One of the biggest risks with MRI comes from the incredibly strong magnets that are used because they are not selective in the objects they act on.
  • Also, newer models tend not to contain ferrous metals – that is, metals that can be attracted by magnets because they contain iron.
  • Similarly, a child suffered bowel perforation during an MRI after ingesting 11 small spherical magnets.

Outside the machine can be dangerous too

  • In 2018, an Indian man was killed when an oxygen cylinder he was carrying was pulled into the MRI machine, causing it to rupture and kill him.
  • Similarly, in 2021, a South Korean man died when an oxygen cylinder in the MRI room crushed his skull after the magnet pulled it into the machine he was being scanned in.

Benefits far outweigh the risks


Despite the above stories, MRI is a revolutionary diagnostic machine that has benefits that far outweigh the risks. Further modifications of MRI, such as fMRI (functional MRI), let doctors and researchers look at brain activity and observe how diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, are progressing. They are also helping researchers discover new drugs and study anatomy – including during sex and orgasm.
These revolutionary machines are extremely useful and are entirely safe when used correctly. So next time you have an MRI scan, when clinical staff ask what seems like innocent and straightforward questions, answer honestly. And tell them about anything you think may be relevant, no matter how trivial, just to be on the safe side.
Adam Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.