In this issue of Alasbimn Journal we wish to highlight de paper on "Mood Disorders and Selfmutilation". This paper reports, by means of NeuroSPECT, the role of the Thalamus in its antero-dorsal-ventral segment or of the reticular nucleus over riding this structure, activating markedly inhibitory pathways on the anterior cingulate gyrus. The authors hypothesize that this inhibition might explain the rising of pain threshold, thus explaining in part the phenomenon of self mutilation that is a frequent complication observed in patients with bipolar mood disorder.
In the Section of PET Imaging we highlight the fascinating article on "Pathological Findings of Pet-FGD in people without Clinical Manifestations of Disease", by Eduardo Gil Martinez et al., from the Pet Center Cartuja in Seville, Spain. They report results of FDG-Pet Studies in asymptomatic individuals that self referred themselves for this type of Cancer Screening. The results are positive and point to the possibility that this self-referral modality of Cancer screening may become more prevalent in the future. This medical situation is not limited to Spain only it is frequent also in Japan (K.Horiuchi, personal communication). It is evident that we are confronted to a behavioral phenomenon that can be explained in part due to the intense information material that is presented to our population and also the high purchasing power of some groups of our populations. We recommend you reading this article in the PET Section because of its interesting results and also because it will certainly trigger controversial reactions among our readers.
I wish this Issue of Alasbimn Journal meets with your approval.
Ismael Mena MD
Editor in Chief Alasbimn Journal
edalasmn@cybercenter.cl
