New molecular imaging agent may help visualize early stages of Alzheimer's disease
Monday, June 7, 2010 - 12:31
in Health & Medicine
A multinational clinical trial revealed at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting presents a novel imaging agent that could be the next major breakthrough for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease -- a slow but fatal neurodegenerative disease. The new agent is used in conjunction with a molecular imaging technique called positron emission tomography (PET) and works by binding to beta-amyloid, a naturally-occurring protein that builds up in the brain and is thought to be a precursor to Alzheimer's. Scientists aim to hone beta-amyloid imaging and put it to use with new drug treatments that could potentially slow or even halt the disease before irreparable damage and dementia set in.