PRINCETON, N.J., June 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — GE Healthcare
today announced the availability of DaTscan™ (Ioflupane I 123
Injection), in more than 80 hospitals across the US. DaTscan is the
first FDA-approved radiopharmaceutical adjunct imaging agent to
help physicians evaluate patients with suspected parkinsonian
syndromes (PS), such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). It gives
physicians diagnostic capability that may lead to timely,
appropriate treatments for suspected PS patients.
“This is a major advance in the diagnostic imaging space. GE
Healthcare personnel are working extremely closely with hospitals
to ensure that these institutions have the proper facilities to
handle and use DaTscan and that physicians are trained properly,”
said Donald J. Quinn, Vice President and General Manager, GE
Healthcare Medical Diagnostics.
DaTscan is a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Schedule II
controlled substance. Hospitals and nuclear imaging centers that
administer DaTscan must have infrastructure dedicated to quality
control, handling and dispensing of DEA Schedule II, radioactive
drugs used for diagnosis and treatment.
“We have a thorough process in place to provide institutions
with assistance in DEA-controlled substance registration, imaging
equipment set-up, and personnel training for radioactive drug
handling and patient imaging protocols,” said Quinn.
Fifty thousand to sixty thousand new cases of PD are diagnosed
in the US each year,(1) but an accurate diagnosis can take up to
six years. Many people mistakenly attribute the first symptoms of
PS, such as PD, to the normal aging process, and many have
misconceptions about diagnosis. A recent survey by the National
Parkinson Foundation found that 33 percent of Americans believe
that a blood test can detect PD, while 30 percent did not know.
Although doctors can run blood tests to help diagnose a number of
conditions, they cannot diagnose PD based on the results of a blood
test.(2) D
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