Riding the wave toward expanded use of integrin-targeting angiogenic drugs, an agent requiring a complicated process of synthesis can now be generated in similar form with a simple kit. The agent, F-18 alfatide, is radiolabeled with integrin avb3-targeting peptides that bind to active tumor processes in squamous or adenomatous carcinoma--in this case of the lungs, according to research published this month in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Multiple surgeries to resect or remove parathyroid glands are necessary for up to 7 percent of patients with hyperparathyroidism, a syndrome of glandular hyperactivity resulting in an overproduction of parathyroid hormone and increased levels of calcium. Planar scintigraphy with I-123 and Tc-99m sestamibi may be the most accurate imaging method for reoperative localization of the parathyroid glands, according to a study published in the May issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Ventilation and perfusion (V/Q) SPECT could one day be used to track the early warning signs of cigarette smoke-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by documenting telltale airflow dysfunction.

Although the outlook for patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer that attacks blood plasma and bone marrow, is typically dismal, F-18 FDG PET/CT has emerged as a strategy that could provide earlier diagnosis as well as more accurate treatment monitoring and patient prognosis, according to a review in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Dementia in people with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be a clinical phenotype distinct from other known dementia subtypes, according to a study published in the April issue of NeuroRehabilitation.

An evaluation of cardiovascular and stroke risk was found to be a more promising predictor of potential cognitive decline than an assessment used to predict development of dementia, according to a study in the April issue of Neurology.

Hybrid molecular imaging can lead to diagnosis of osteomyelitis in diabetic patients via bedside bone puncture without the need for surgical or image-guided biopsy, according to a study published online in Diabetes Care in March.

Of all the outsourcing decisions that radiology practices must make, none might take as long as deciding whether to outsource medical billing and coding. This is due, in part, to the fact that billing is the company’s cash register, so to speak, and is therefore more likely to be scrutinized —even agonized over—than are other services.