Radiopharmaceutical tracer is developed to assist the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease

Life Molecular Imaging, a division of Alliance Medical Group, develops novel PET tracers for molecular imaging. The company’s first commercial product is NeuraCeq, a radiopharmaceutical tracer for PET imaging of patients that are being evaluated for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other causes of cognitive impairment.

The technology makes it possible to rule out AD or to assist in its diagnosis. It is approved in the EU, USA and Asia, while in other regions it is available for research purposes. Life Molecular Imaging division lead Dr Ludger Dinkelborg explained that PET imaging has a significant impact on the management of patients suspected of having AD, even though there is no cure for the disease yet.

NeuraCeq is a radioactive diagnostic agent indicated for PET imaging of the brain to estimate beta amyloid neuritic plaque density in adult patients with cognitive impairment who are being evaluated for AD and other causes of cognitive decline.

Dr Dinkelborg said: “We strongly believe that amyloid PET scans offer a valuable clinical evaluation method for patients, physicians and caregivers alike, a method that could also potentially help identify more efficacious interventions to help prevent, halt or slow down this terrible disease.”

Picture: A negative amyloid PET scan indicates sparse or no amyloid neuritic plaques and reduces likelihood that cognitive impairment is due to AD. A positive amyloid PET scan indicates moderate or frequent amyloid neuritic plaques, typical in patients with AD, but may be present in other neurologic conditions as well as older people with normal cognition.

Published on page 10 of the June 2020 issue of RAD Magazine.