Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Researchers have used MRI scans to show that people with autism have differences in brain structure that correspond to cognitive and behavioral deficiencies.
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco used MRI to develop a set of radiologic features on scans that indicate which individuals might have genetic changes at a site on the 16th chromosome that have been identified as causes of autism. Further, they linked these findings to cognitive and behavioral scores.
The researchers believe that the findings could help identify individuals with genetic causes of autism and help direct early intervention. Learn more about the study by clicking here, or visit our MRI Community at mri.auntminnie.com.
New prostate PET tracer
Could a new radiopharmaceutical for PET imaging of prostate cancer offer improvements over existing radiotracers? It's still early days, but researchers from the University of Michigan are reported interesting results in an article we're highlighting in our Molecular Imaging Community.
The radiotracer is carbon-11 sarcosine, which homes in on cells using amino acid transporters that are overexpressed in some tissues and solid tumors. Researchers wanted to know if this overexpression was elevated in prostate cancer tumors.
In a study in two mouse models and a patient with prostate cancer, they found that carbon-11 sarcosine showed elevated levels of tumor-to-background ratio compared with another commonly used prostate PET agent, carbon-11 choline. Learn more by clicking here, or visit our Molecular Imaging Community at molecular.auntminnie.com.
Minnies nominations still open
Have you nominated anyone for a Minnie award yet? Our nomination process is still open, but it won't be forever. To get started, just go to minnies.auntminnie.com.