MRI Study about Correlation of alcohol consumption and brain volume
R. Daviet et al. ( Nat Commun 13,1175 (2022)) using the UK image database, examined the MRI cranial scans of over 36,000 middle-aged or elderly individuals.
They have analyzed the influence of moderate alcohol consumption on brain volume. It is known from previous studies that substantial alcohol consumption causes significant changes in both the volume and structure of the brain. The study participants were divided into different groups with regard to their alcohol consumption and the brain volumes were measured by MRI scan.
It could be shown that already the daily intake of one to two alcohol units (in this study this corresponds to one to two glasses of wine) leads to a significantly measurable reduction of the brain volume. The authors then used various approximation calculations to determine that this damage to the white and gray matter caused by moderate alcohol intake is equivalent to pre-aging of the brain by approximately two years. Furthermore, it was found that with increasing alcohol consumption, the effects on the brain increase significantly, and brain pre-aging increases rapidly.
In 20 seconds analysis of a cardio MRI with AI
The research group of R. Davies et al. (J.Cardiovasc. Magn. Res.24,16/2022, 10.3.2022 open access), University College London, has developed an artificial intelligence-based algorithm capable of correctly and completely autonomously evaluating a cardiovascular MRI in 20 seconds regarding the presence or absence of cardiovascular disease. Specialized radiologists required 13 minutes to perform the same analysis in this study. The algorithm performed only one erroneous measurement in 479 examinations. The error rate of three trained cardiovascular radiologists was significantly higher in this study.
Coffee is good for the heart
Three studies will be presented at the American College of Cardiology Congress (2-4/4/2022,Washington DC, USA) showing that coffee drinking has beneficial cardiovascular effects that are dependent on the amount of coffee enjoyed. A preliminary publication presented a study from the Baker Heart Institute in Melbourne, Australia, in which more than 380,000 people without cardiovascular disease, who were a median of 57 years old, were followed for more than 10 years.
It was shown that a daily consumption of at least 2-3 cups of coffee reduced the risk of coronary heart disease, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia or death from heart failure by 10-15%. Another study of patients with pre-existing cardiac conditions (34,000 people) also showed a reduction in the risk of death with 2-3 cups of coffee compared to no caffeine at all. It could also be shown that it does not depend on the type of coffee: it was irrelevant whether ground filter coffee or soluble coffee was drunk, the amount of at least 2-3 cups per day was decisive. Decaffeinated coffee only reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease, but not the risk of heart failure or arrhythmia, leading the authors to conclude that 2-3 cups of caffeinated coffee per day is recommended for cardiac health maintenance!
Prevention of Contrast Media Paravasation
A Japanese research group from Kumamoto University (Acad Radiol.; 2022; doi.or/10.10167j.acra.2022.01.007) has established a protocol for extravasation prevention and has been reviewing it since 2015. They recommend that a pre-check be performed on each patient by the technical staff.
The following criteria are checked:
- Lack of blood return in the cannula,
- Significant obesity, known history of extravasation,
- fragile skin, e.g. under chemotherapy,
- Age over 75 and
- Radiation therapy in the possible puncture area.
If there is an abnormality in any of these criteria, the radiologist in charge must be informed and the injection rate of the contrast medium reduced to 2 ml/s. Accordingly, the tube voltage on the CT is reduced, and monochromatic imaging via dual-energy CT is performed if necessary to still achieve diagnostic image quality. With this protocol, the Japanese hospital was able to reduce the incidence of contrast agent extravasation from 0.63% to 0.24%.