RSNA Highlights

Stem Cells May Hold Promise as Multiple Sclerosis Cure
Novel Imaging Technique Shows Abnormal Brain Anatomy in Children with A D H D
Brain Imaging with MRI Could Replace Lie Detector
Imaging Technology Solves 400-Year-Old Mystery
Patients? Own Stem Cells Used to Cure Incontinence
Brain Remapping May Be Key to Recovery from Stroke
Radiologists Help Provide Worldwide Access to Ancient Art
Smokers? Lung Cancer Risk Identified in CT Screening Study
MRI Shows Liver Tumors Freezing in Real Time

A number of exciting advances in Radiology were presented at this years conference, covering a diverse range of developments in its field.

One of the highlights of the conference came with the news that Researchers have identified stem cells that may hold promise as Multiple Sclerosis Cure.

Stem Cells May Hold Promise as Multiple Sclerosis Cure

Neural stem cells injected into mice can repair brain cells damaged by a disease similar to multiple sclerosis (MS), according to researchers who used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor the cell's progress through the affected brain regions.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, autoimmune disease characterized by the destruction of myelin, the protective layers that surround nerve cells. It can affect numerous body functions, and symptoms may include visual and speech impairment, memory loss, depression, muscle weakness, loss of coordination, numbness orpain, bowel and bladder problems and sexual dysfunction. MS affects approximately 400,000 people in the United States and as many as 2.5 million worldwide, mostly women between the ages of 20 and 50, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Over 10,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.

"Stem cells have the potential to replace the function of damaged nerve cells," said the study's senior author, Giuseppe Scotti, M.D., professor and chairman of neuroradiology at the University and Scientific Institute San Raffaele and dean of the Medical School, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan. ?In this case, stem cells increase the number of glial cells, the cells that produce myelin. Myelin is then restored.?

By Infusing the cells with iron particles before injection, it makes them visible on the MRI.

While EAE is not the same as MS, it closely resembles the disease in many ways, including disease progression, lesions and behavior, according to Dr. Politi. "The result in damaged tissue is very much the same," Dr. Scotti said. "Since the stem cells try to repair the damaged tissue, the model is absolutely superimposable."

The ability to monitor the migration of the transplanted cells is vital if the treatment is going to be adapted to MS patients. "The development if this MRI-based method to track labeled cells non-invasively represents a crucial step toward the application of this therapy to humans,"Dr. Politi said.

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