AJNR Blog » Special Collections

Radiation Dose in Neuroradiology: New Special Collection and Podcast

MCastillo — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:18:03 +0000

By now most Neuroradiologists are aware of the US Food and Drug Administration notification regarding dangerous levels of radiation exposure produced in one facility while performing CT perfusion. This unfortunate event has been front page material for the media, leading to patient anxiety and, more important, to questions regarding the use of this valuable technique. The facility involved has recently revealed that 260 patients were exposed to high radiation levels; 20% of cases involving the eyes which places these individuals at high risk for cataracts. It should come as no surprise that by the time of this writing, legal action against that facility and the equipment manufacturer have been initiated. Shortly thereafter, in a different facility, a technologist scanned the same region of a child’s head 151 times! Because radiation exposure from diagnostic tests has received considerable notice—even before these 2 incidents—it behooves all of us to employ our equipment judiciously. In many instances, the benefits far outweigh the risks of radiation exposure.

In a timely fashion that only electronic publication allows, Drs. Max Wintermark and Mike Lev, experts on CT perfusion, have put together a wonderful editorial (to appear in the print edition of AJNR, too) and an informative Special Collection on radiation exposure-related articles. Our series of Special Collections is biannual but when we believe that our readers and society constituency need further information, we can rapidly act and deploy educational materials that will keep us all well versed and up-to-date.

Additionally at www.ajnr.org you will be able to find our first podcast. Our podcast editor is Dr. Doug Phillips from Cornell University. This podcast is a group discussion regarding radiation exposure and CT scanning. The group participants are Drs. Wintermark, Lev, Schaefer and Sanelli all experts in this field. Before this podcast was recorded I invited all editorial board members of AJNR to send us their questions in order to assure a balanced point of view. The discussants did a great job trying to address the most important issues.

Listen to the Podcast (opens as a mp3).

View the Special Collection.

AJNR’s New Special Collection Provides Backdrop to Vertebroplasty Controversy

MCastillo — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:34:20 +0000

The recent publication of two prospective, randomized vertebroplasty trials in the New England Journal of Medicine has garnered lively debate about the benefits of this procedure. The American Journal of Neuroradiology’s latest Special Collection “Percutaneous Vertebroplasty” documents the seminal research leading up to these latest studies and serves as an excellent foundation for spinal augmentation research.

“Few would argue that percutaneous vertebroplasty announced its birth and found its voice on the pages of AJNR. No other publication has been more crucial to the discussion, dissection, and dissemination of technical and clinical research as it relates to this procedure,” said Collection editors Mary E. Jensen and Joshua A. Hirsch. “The sheer number of positive outcomes in patients debilitated by their disease, catalogued on these pages stand as testimony to the benefits of vertebroplasty over best medical therapy.”

“Little did all of us know that destiny would ‘throw us a curve ball’ on August 6 when the New England Journal published the now famous (or infamous?) articles that attempted to debunk vertebroplasty as treatment for painful osteoporotic spinal fractures,” explained AJNR’s Editor-in-Chief Mauricio Castillo. “These events make this compilation of articles even more pertinent. Now is the time for the reader to decide if the procedure is beneficial or not, and to act accordingly.”

AJNR Special Collections are released biannually on an open-access basis to provide a comprehensive source of imaging-related articles that are convenient, valuable, and quotable. Previous Collections include “Imaging Acute Stroke and its Consequences,” edited by Pamela W. Schaefer and R. Gilberto González, and “Acute Stroke Intervention” edited by Colin P. Derdeyn and Avi Mazumdar. All are available through AJNR’s print-on-demand service (Brightdoc), allowing readers to order a full-color hard copy for just US $50.00, plus shipping.

Be sure to bookmark the latest Special Collection link or connect through the AJNR homepage on your next visit.

AJNR Special Collections now available in print!

MCastillo — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:19:04 +0000

We now have print on demand capabilities. After our first Special Collection was published online about 6 months ago we received several requests from individuals wanting print copies of it. Now, on the welcome page of each collection users will find a link that takes them to this exclusive service. For $50.00 US you can order a printed issue of all of the contents in each collection. The printed issue arrives in few days later by mail and has a nice glossy cover (similar to AJNR). The cover design changes with each issue. This a great opportunity to have in your hands these fantastic collections of the ANJRs best articles.

Special Collections Issues.

MCastillo — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:27:32 +0000

Our first special collection issue, edited by Dr. Schaefer and Gonzalez from the MGH has been a success. You can look at it by clicking the right hand column on our website. We continue with this service and our second issue is currently being prepared. The editor will be Dr. Colin Derdeyn from the Mallinckrodt Institute. Its topic is arterial and venous recanalization which I think will nicely complement the first issue which was on imaging of stroke and its consequences. We have it planned for April of this year so come back and visit our website often! Special collections issues will continue to be published twice per year.