Radiology in public focus
Press releases were sent to the medical news media for the following articles appearing in recent issues of RSNA Journals.
Annual Meeting Sessions Garner Strong Media Focus
Nineteen press releases were distributed in November to promote annual meeting sessions and announcements. The RSNA 2023 press releases receiving the most media attention were:
Hidden Belly Fat in Midlife Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease
Higher amounts of visceral abdominal fat in midlife are linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study from Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Researchers analyzed data from 54 cognitively healthy participants, ranging in age from 40 to 60 years old, with an average BMI of 32. Using MRI and PET, the researchers found that a higher visceral to subcutaneous fat ratio was associated with higher amyloid PET tracer uptake in the precuneus cortex, the region known to be affected early by amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease, and that higher visceral fat measurements were related to an increased burden of inflammation in the brain.
New Treatment Restores Sense of Smell in Patients with Long COVID
Using an image-guided, minimally invasive procedure, researchers may be able to restore the sense of smell in patients who have suffered with long COVID, according to a study from Jefferson Health in Philadelphia.
For the study, 54 patients were referred from an ear, nose and throat specialist after at least six months of post-COVID parosmia that was resistant to pharmaceutical and topical therapies. CT guidance was used to position a spinal needle at the base of the neck for injection into the stellate ganglion. At follow-up one week later, 59% of patients reported improvement in symptoms.
Soccer Heading Linked to Measurable Decline in Brain Function
Research linked soccer heading—where players hit the ball with their head—to a measurable decline in the microstructure and function of the brain over a two-year period.
The study included 148 young adult amateur soccer players who responded to a specialized questionnaire designed to determine how often they hit the soccer ball with their head. The players were assessed for verbal learning and memory and underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at the time of enrollment and two years later. Compared to the baseline test results, the high-heading group demonstrated an increase of diffusivity in frontal white matter regions and a decrease of orientation dispersion index in certain brain regions after two years of heading exposure.
A second study presented by the same group investigated the association between repetitive head impacts from soccer heading and verbal learning performance. In 353 amateur soccer players, the researchers found that normally sharp gray matter-white matter interface was blunted in proportion to high repetitive head impact exposure.
For more information, research images and videos related to these releases and all the RSNA 2023 releases, visit RSNA.org/Media.
Media Coverage of RSNA
RSNA tracks audience impressions of its press releases over time to look for trends and evaluate the reach and impact of the publicity.
In November, 30,742 RSNA-related news stories were tracked in the media, including 29,147 placements related to RSNA 2023. These stories had over 21.6 billion audience impressions.
Prominent media outlets and programs covering news from RSNA 2023 included: People, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, NBC News, Fox News, CBS News, CNN, Good Morning America, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Sky News (London), NBC News Now, New England Cable News, New York Daily News, New York Post, Newsday, Business Insider, Cosmos Magazine, The Times (London), The Telegraph (London), The Guardian (London), Daily Mail (London), Metro (London), Chicago Sun-Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, UPI, ANI, Yahoo! News, Medium, Breitbart, Everyday Health, Healthline, Healio, MSN, CBS News Radio, NBC News Radio, Salem Radio Network, iHeart Radio, and more than 500 regional broadcast outlets, including WABC-TV (New York), WNBC-TV (New York), WINS-AM (New York), WCBS-AM (New York), KTLA-TV (Los Angeles), KFI-AM (Los Angeles), KABC-AM (Los Angeles), KTTV-TV (Los Angeles), WGN-TV (Chicago), WMAQ-TV (Chicago), WJLA-TV (Washington, D.C.), WBZ-AM (Boston) and WBTS-TV (Boston).
Help Patients Learn to Read Chest X-Ray Reports
Help empower your patients, reduce their anxiety and improve communication and collaboration during the care cycle. Direct them to RadiologyInfo.org, the public information website produced by RSNA and ACR, for easy-to-read information that will help your patients cut through the medical jargon and make sense of their chest X-ray radiology reports.
The site also includes a brief video featuring Joanna Escalon, MD, a cardiothoracic radiologist at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, who offers a patient-friendly look at understanding your chest X-ray report.
Follow RadiologyInfo.org on social media at including Facebook, Instagram and X.