“It really saved the lives of some of my friends,” he said. kim kardashian by having a total MRI of your body. The American celebrity is part of a trend of rich and famous carrying out a roughly hour-long MRI session that scans the entire body for early signs of cancer, aneurysms, liver disease and even multiple sclerosis.
At that time, the model and influencer shared her medical examination experience with her 364 million followers. The person in charge of developing this preventive method of body screening is the company Prenuvo. According to its founder and CEO of the company, Andrew Lacythe brand offers free scans to influencers and celebrities “in exchange for an honest review if they feel like it.” For everyone else, the value of the consultation is $2,499.
The brand’s marketing trend was strongly imposed during the New York Fashion Week, in early September. At that time, Prenuvo coordinated with the fashion PR agency Lucien Pages to make appointments with “a few” influential people in the fashion world. Among them, the French fashion editor Olivier Zahmthe designer Zac Posenthe model Lily Aldridge and Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnsonwho after the experience published their comments on social networks.
Prenuvo is one of the most prominent companies in the sector of body scanners that are not covered by health insurance. But it is not the only company in the field, there are also Ezra, simonONE and Neko Health, based in Stockholm. “It’s completely understandable why you would want to detect cancer early. It would absolutely give you that feeling of control over it,” said the doctor. Rebecca Smith-Bindmandirector of Radiologic Outcomes Research Laboratory at the University of California, San Franciscoto The New York Times portal
However, in April, the American College of Radiology issued a statement stating that “there is no documented evidence that whole body screening is cost-effective or effective in prolonging life,” and expressed concern that the scans may result in “nonspecific findings” that require exhaustive and costly monitoring. “There is simply no evidence to support healthy people undergoing whole-body MRI screening, even for people with a family history of cancer,” he said. Larry Nortonbreast oncologist and medical director of Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
A 2019 meta-analysis looked at 12 studies covering more than 5,000 people who had no symptoms of diseases such as cancer but had undergone whole-body MRI scans. Among the six studies that had complete data, the researchers found that 16 percent of people who were scanned ended up having false positives. False negatives, meaning the scanner missed something, were seen in only one study, which occurred in about 2 percent of people.
“Prenuvo’s visibility on social networks is unusual,” he explained. Joshua Cohenhealth economist, and added: “Other diagnostic tests, such as x-rays for bone fractures and positron emission tomography (PET) scans for Alzheimer’s disease, are prescribed by doctors after an evaluation, they are not spread by word of mouth. On Instagram”.
According to specialists, this visibility has led some people to book scans despite feeling perfectly healthy. An example of this was made known The New York Times in his report. Jennifer Jones, a 44-year-old woman from St. Louis who first heard about Prenuvo on social media, said she wanted to get tested, in part because her sister has lung cancer. According to the New York media, Jones said she was aware that many doctors are skeptical of scans for healthy people, but she had “no doubt that it is legitimate” and the price is worth it compared to the potential costs, financial and of another type, of a future illness.
On the other hand, experts warn that our body often presents abnormalities, such as lumps, masses and scars in the organs, which MRI can detect. These can later be flagged as false positives. According to him Dr Dushyant Sahaniprofessor of radiology at University of WashingtonMRI alone cannot always indicate whether a finding is benign or concerning, so patients often have to undergo additional testing.
Prenuvo’s founder said the theoretical risks around false positives do not reflect Prenuvo’s technology, which he says is more accurate than the CT scans on which much of the screening research focuses. A representative of the medical company also said that 5 percent of people who undergo a Prenuvo scan are alerted to “potentially life-saving findings.”
Finally, Michael Pignone, professor of internal medicine Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin and former member of the US Preventive Services Task Force, was concerned about what he called the “opportunity cost,” that is, the effort people invest in following up MRI results. , rather than following the recommended schedule of checkups or focusing on other facets of preventive medicine.
by RN
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