[ad_1]
Brain tests can improve the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.
The researchers evaluated the use of PET to identify amyloid plaques related to Alzheimer's disease in the brain. The study included more than 11,000 Medicare beneficiaries with mild thought impairment or insecure dementia.
Better medical management
This scanning technique changed the diagnosis of the cause of mental retardation in more than one-third of the study participants.
Brain badysis results also changed management – including the use of drugs and counseling – in almost two-thirds of cases, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"These findings present highly credible large-scale evidence that amyloid PET imaging can be a powerful tool to improve the diagnostic accuracy of Alzheimer's disease and lead to better medical management, particularly in cases difficult to diagnose, "said Maria, co-author of the study. Carrillo, scientific leader of the Alzheimer's Association.
"It is important that amyloid PET imaging is more widely available to those who need it," she added in a press release from the badociation.
The study was funded by Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Inc., General Electric Healthcare and Life Molecular Imaging.
No cure for Alzheimer's disease
"We are impressed by the magnitude of these findings, which clearly show that amyloid PET imaging can have a major impact on the way we diagnose and treat patients with Alzheimer's disease. and other forms of cognitive decline, "said Dr. Gil Rabinovici, lead author. He is Professor of Neurology at the Memory and Aging Center of the University of California at San Francisco.
Alzheimer's disease can not be cured, but early diagnosis means that patients can receive treatment to manage symptoms and be referred to clinical trials for new drugs.
Early diagnosis also means that patients and their families can plan for the future, including safety, care, legal and financial issues, as well as access to resources and support programs, the researchers said.
In this study, PET scans revealed that about one-third of patients previously diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease had no significant accumulation of amyloid and that the diagnosis of their disease was delayed. Alzheimer was reversed.
Critical accurate diagnostics
But in nearly half of the previously undiagnosed patients, PET examinations showed significant accumulation of amyloid plaque, resulting in a new diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.
One-third of study participants who had previously been referred to Alzheimer's clinical trials showed no evidence of amyloid accumulation based on PET. Based on these findings, physicians were able to ensure that almost all (93%) patients tested for Alzheimer's were positive for amyloid, which is critical to the success of these studies. trials.
"Accurate diagnoses are essential to ensure that patients receive the most appropriate treatments.In particular, drugs against Alzheimer's disease can worsen the cognitive decline of people with other brain diseases," he said. declared Rabinovici.
"But perhaps more fundamentally, people who come to the clinic with memory problems want answers.An early and definitive diagnosis can enable individuals to participate in planning the next phase of their lives and make decisions. to be done by others, "he said.
Image credit: iStock
[ad_2]
Source link
