Meng Eu Law, MBBS, FRACR

Meng Eu Law, MBBS, FRACR, is a world-class radiologist who dedicated most of his career to neuroradiology, a subspecialty of radiology that focuses on the diagnosis of abnormalities of the brain, spine, and head and neck using various imaging techniques. Dr. Law is currently practicing at three different locations in California, including the Keck Hospital of University of Southern California, USC Healthcare Center 2, and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital. Furthermore, he maintains several academic appointments, including Professor of Radiology, Neurology, Neurological Surgery at Keck School of Medicine) and Biomedical Engineering at Viterbi School of Engineering. Dr. Law is also the Director of Neuroradiology and program Director of the Neuroradiology Fellowship Program at USC, and Director of Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Core also at USC. He has chaired the Research American Society of Spine Radiology. Dr. Law has been actively involved in numerous societies including the RSNA, ISMRM, ARRS, ASNR, ASSR, ASFNR and the ENRS. For more information about Dr. Meng Law, please visit https://providers.keckmedicine.org/provider/Meng+Law/205169.

 

My Entry into the 2017 Edition of the Leading Physicians of the World

Check out my official selection by the International Association of HealthCare Professionals for publication into the Leading Physicians of the World:

Venerated Neuroradiologist, Meng Law, MBBS, FRACR, will be Spotlighted in The Leading Physicians of the World

FindATopDoc Profile

For three consecutive years until 2013, Meng Eu Law, MBBS, FRACR,was voted a Top Doctor by Pasadena Magazine. In 2008, he received the Outstanding Teacher Award (ISMRM), Norman Leeds Awards for Paper (ENRS, 2007), Society of Neurooncology Award (2006), Award for Excellence in Clinical Science (2006), Stephan Kieffer Best Presentation Award (ENRS, 2004), Outstanding Presentation Award (ASNR, 2003), and Fellow Research Prize (RSNA, 2000). In addition to his multiple awards, he is the author and co-author of numerous articles, more than 100, in peer reviewed publications, as well as 30 book chapters. As a result of his outstanding performance in the field of neuroradiology, The International Association of HealthCare Professionals (IAHCP) has selected Meng Eu Law, MBBS, FRACR, to be featured in the premier publication of The Leading Physicians of the World. For more information about Dr. Meng Law, please visit https://www.findatopdoc.com/doctor/8129526-meng-law-Radiologist-Los-Angeles-California-90015.

Cancer patients want more information about medical imaging risk

A substantial gap exists between patient expectations and current practices for providing information about medical imaging tests that use radiation, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. Researchers said the findings highlight a need for better communication as medicine enters an era of patient-centered care.In recent years, there have been numerous reports in the media about potential risks of tests that use ionizing radiation. However, benefit-risk discussions about ionizing radiation from medical imaging are rare and seldom initiated by clinicians.For the new study, researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City analyzed over nine hours of transcribed conversations with 30 people who had undergone medical imaging exams to determine their understanding of the benefits and risks associated with various medical imaging procedures and their expectations regarding communication of those benefits and risks.

Read the rest of the article at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/291385.php.

Cherenkov Effect improves radiation therapy for patients with cancer

The characteristic blue glow from a nuclear reactor is present in radiation therapy, too. Investigators from Dartmouth’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center, led by Brian W. Pogue, PhD, and PhD candidates Adam K. Glaser and Rongxiao Zhang, published in Physics in Medicine and Biology how the complex parts of the blue light known as the Cherenkov Effect can be measured and used in dosimetry to make therapies safer and more effective.”The beauty of using the light from the Cherenkov Effect for dosimetry is that it’s the only current method that can reveal dosimetric information completely non-invasively in water or tissue,” said Glaser.

Read the rest of the article at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/290027.php.

Sunlight continues to damage skin in the dark

Much of the damage that ultraviolet radiation (UV) does to skin occurs hours after sun exposure, a team of Yale-led researchers concluded in a study that was published online by the journal Science.Exposure to UV light from the sun or from tanning beds can damage the DNA in melanocytes, the cells that make the melanin that gives skin its color. This damage is a major cause of skin cancer, the most common form of cancer in the United States. In the past, experts believed that melanin protected the skin by blocking harmful UV light. But there was also evidence from studies suggesting that melanin was associated with skin cell damage.In the current study, Douglas E. Brash, clinical professor of therapeutic radiology and dermatology at Yale School of Medical, and his co-authors first exposed mouse and human melanocyte cells to radiation from a UV lamp. The radiation caused a type of DNA damage known as a cyclobutane dimer (CPD), in which two DNA “letters” attach and bend the DNA, preventing the information it contains from being read correctly. To the researchers’ surprise, the melanocytes not only generated CPDs immediately but continued to do so hours after UV exposure ended. Cells without melanin generated CPDs only during the UV exposure.

Read the rest of the article at  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/289728.php.

Human stem cells repair damage caused by radiation therapy for brain cancer in rats

For patients with brain cancer, radiation is a powerful and potentially life-saving treatment, but it can also cause considerable and even permanent injury to the brain. Now, through preclinical experiments conducted in rats, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center researchers have developed a method to turn human stem cells into cells that are instructed to repair damage in the brain. Rats treated with the human cells regained cognitive and motor functions that were lost after brain irradiation. The findings are reported in the February 5 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.During radiation therapy for brain cancer, progenitor cells that later mature to produce the protective myelin coating around neurons are lost or significantly depleted, and there is no treatment available to restore them. These myelinating cells–called oligodendrocytes–are critical for shielding and repairing the brain’s neurons throughout life.A team led by neurosurgeon Viviane Tabar, MD, and research associate Jinghua Piao, PhD, of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, wondered whether stem cells could be coaxed to replace these lost oligodendrocyte progenitor cells. They found that this could be achieved by growing stem cells–either human embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells derived from skin biopsies–in the presence of certain growth factors and other molecules.Next, the investigators used the lab-grown oligodentrocyte progenitor cells to treat rats that had been exposed to brain irradiation. When the cells were injected into certain regions of the brain, brain repair was evident, and rats regained the cognitive and motor skills that they had lost due to radiation exposure. The treatment also appeared to be safe: none of the animals developed tumors or inappropriate cell types in the brain.

Read the rest of the article at  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/289083.php.

Majority of primary care physicians find that medical imaging improves patient care

According to a study published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR), large majorities of primary care physicians believe that advanced medical imaging, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), provides considerable value to patient care.A national survey of 500 primary care physicians was conducted using an online self-administered questionnaire. Study results showed that primary care physicians overwhelmingly indicated that advanced imaging:For more information read here http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/288560.php

 

Patient-centred approach to recording side effects of radiotherapy

For lung cancer that cannot be removed with surgery, radiotherapy is the primary treatment option. However, it is associated with a range of side effects, including fatigue and inflammation of the oesophagus and lungs.

Current methods to record treatment-related toxicities rely on assessment by health care professionals. Now a team from The University of Manchester and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust – both part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre – has explored the use of patient-reported outcomes to improve the recording of side effects for lung cancer patients.

Dr Corinne Faivre-Finn, a researcher in The University of Manchester’s Institute of Cancer Sciences and a consultant based at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, who led the research, said: “Such patient-reported outcome tools have been mainly evaluated for use with chemotherapy treatments. We wanted to assess their feasibility and relevance in lung cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.”

The group looked at the agreement between side effects as reported by doctors and the patients themselves. They also evaluated the relationship between reported toxicities and quality-of-life measures, relating to aspects such as tiredness, anxiety and shortness of breath.

Patients were asked to fill in questionnaires covering both side effects and quality of life at three time points: before treatment, at the end of radiotherapy and at later follow up. The consultants answered questions at identical time points covering the same common radiotherapy-related toxicities for each patient.

The study found that there was strongest agreement between the patient’s scoring of side effects and measures relating to their quality of life. Toxicities as recorded by the clinicians appeared to underestimate their severity.

“This was the first study in Europe to explore such a patient-centred approach to recording side effects. Incorporating this method into cancer care could allow us to detect and manage serious effects earlier. It could also improve patient-doctor relationships and help doctors better understand the full impact of treatment on patients,” added Dr Faivre-Finn.

Adapted by MNT from original media release

 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/287751.php

Real-time radiation monitor can reduce radiation exposure for medical workers

It’s a sound that saves. A “real-time” radiation monitor that alerts by beeping in response to radiation exposure during cardiac-catheterization procedures significantly reduces the amount of exposure that medical workers receive, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers found.

In a randomized study, the researchers divided 505 patients undergoing either diagnostic coronary angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention, such as stent placement, into two groups. In half the procedures, medical workers used the current gold standard for radiation monitoring, which is a “dosimetry” badge that is worn by a medical worker for a month and then sent off for the cumulative radiation dose to be read. In the other half, medical workers wore a device called Bleeper Sv, which beeps approximately once every 15 minutes in response to low background radiation, and beeps once every 20 seconds when exposure is higher, or continuously, if it is very high.

In settings where the medical workers wore the device that gives the real-time auditory feedback, radiation exposure was consistently decreased by approximately one-third.

“Radiation is invisible,” said Dr. Emmanouil Brilakis, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern and senior author of the paper. “Use of a radiation detection device can provide real-time ‘visualization’ of radiation exposure, enabling operators to take actions to reduce radiation exposure.”

Among actions that medical workers can take to reduce radiation exposure are reducing the frame rate (the number of X-ray images taken per second to create a “movie” of the coronary arteries), decreasing fluoroscopy time, repositioning the patient, repositioning the medical worker, adjusting the position of the radiation shield, and using additional shielding.

“Using devices that provide real-time radiation-exposure feedback can help the operator adopt safer radiation practices,” said Dr. Brilakis, who is also Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at the VA North Texas Health Care System. “In our study, this was achieved in a real-life setting among unselected patients using a low-cost device that can be used with any X-ray system.”

Physicians and other medical workers on cardiac-catheterization teams will likely participate in hundreds of procedures a year. The dose limit for occupational exposure is 20 mSv per year for five years, but no dose is safe and all doses are considered to contribute to cancer risk.

“It has been shown that people who are chronically exposed to radiation in cardiac catheterization labs are more likely to develop left-sided brain tumors,” said Dr. Brilakis. “The reduction in operator exposure observed in our study is likely to translate into a decreased risk for long-term adverse clinical events.”

The results of the RadiCure study appear in the Dec. 16 issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions.

Adapted by MNT from original media release

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/287142.php