Wednesday, May 24, 2017

MRI of the Fetal Brain - NEUROSCIENCE


Advancements in MRI are giving us an unprecedented look at the fetal brain. Until approximately a decade ago, what researchers knew about the developing prenatal brain came primarily from analyzing the brains of aborted or miscarried fetuses. But studying postmortem brains can be confounding because scientists can’t definitively pinpoint whether the injuries to the brain occurred before or during birth.

Over the years, however, improvements to MRI are finally enabling researchers to study the developing brain in real time. With these advancements, researchers are just beginning to understand how normal brains develop, and how abnormalities can manifest over the course of development. Scientists cataloging typical infant brain development with the mini-MRI hope to use it eventually to study the brains of premature babies, who have a high risk of brain damage. Ultimately, clinicians hope to intervene early with therapies, if available and approved, to prevent developmental disorders when there are signs of brain damage in utero or shortly after birth.

If you wonder...
The answer is YES - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is very safe and most people can have the procedure, including pregnant women and babies. However, there are some instances where an MRI scan may not be recommended, because the strong magnets used during the scan can affect any metal implants or fragments in your body.


Read the article:
https://www.nature.com/articles/nm0317-270.epdf?shared_access_token=toLr6snA3ztcCHr97M6T6NRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0Mw3u3GvvC5lEMo_5e9kQOO3NJnjoknMeSwkrcVq9U9q1U-XLCwFQl-tmbuMokA2-KBdVP-pfRrohGxcILqlv4S-CznXSK6IDat6rkHcKBBu1-Ey85fM4lPSgEPo8WHSZo%3D
Corina Marinescu

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