Dear AuntMinnie Member,
As legalization of marijuana spreads across the U.S., researchers from Vermont are raising concerns about the impact that smoking cannabis can have on the brains of young people, based on findings from MRI scans.
Researchers have found that adolescents who smoked cannabis as few as one or two times had changes in gray-matter volume that differentiated them from adolescents who never smoked. They believe the changes are due to the effect of the active ingredient in cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), on brain structure.
The researchers believe the findings indicate that cannabis use may not be completely harmless and that public health authorities should keep a close eye on marijuana use in some vulnerable populations as legalization spreads.
In other MRI news, Pennsylvania researchers developed computer-aided detection (CAD) software to analyze MRI scans to determine whether patients with multiple sclerosis need a contrast agent for their exams. Use of the CAD software could potentially reduce patient exposure to gadolinium-based contrast agents.
Is it a good idea to market full-body MRI screening exams direct to consumers? Regardless of what you think, an imaging provider in the New York City area is already doing it.
These stories and more are available in our MRI Community.
Personalized breast screening
A different type of screening was under discussion in the closing address at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) meeting earlier this month. Noted breast MRI expert Dr. Christiane Kuhl of Germany discussed how personalized breast screening is already becoming a reality.
Deep learning is driving the development of screening strategies that can be tailored to a woman's lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. These strategies can also be applied to directing treatment, so in the near future fewer women will be treated for cancers that might never pose a health threat.
Our article on Dr. Kuhl's talk can be found in our RADCast @ ISMRM.
Google AI targets lung screening
Finally, internet search giant Google has set its sights on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical imaging. The company worked with a group from Northwestern Medicine in Chicago on an AI model that analyzed CT lung cancer screening exams to predict which patients with suspicious nodules might be more at risk of developing cancer in a year -- a key consideration in deciding which patients to work up. Read all about it in our Artificial Intelligence Community.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
