MIAMI, Jan. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — New clinical research data
suggests that [18F] Flutemetamol could add value to current
diagnostic tools used by physicians and provide accurate
identification of beta amyloid plaques, considered to be a sign of
neurodegeneration linked to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).
Flutemetamol, a GE Healthcare Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
imaging agent currently in phase III development, is being studied
to identify the uptake of beta amyloid via imaging of the
brain tissue in live humans. Currently, beta amyloid is
identified from brain samples acquired post-mortem. Together
with other GE Healthcare imaging modalities, this may help
physicians detect amyloid deposition and assist in the detection
and treatment of AD.
“The wealth of data presented this year at the annual HAI
meeting fundamentally supports the value Flutemetamol could bring
to the Alzheimer’s community,” said Jonathan Allis, MI PET Segment
Leader, GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics. “The ability to
make visual assessments of amyloid in AD patients may enable
physicians to seek earlier, confirmed diagnosis of AD and make more
informed care decisions.”
Data highlights from five clinical abstracts from studies of
Flutemetamol to be featured at the 5th Annual Human Amyloid Imaging
(HAI) meeting in Miami, Florida suggest that:
- The in vivo PET retention of Flutemetamol and PIB
(Pittsburgh Compound B) have comparable patterns of binding; - There is a strong concordance between Flutemetamol amyloid
imaging and cortical biopsy histopathology using both visual and
quantitative methods; - The combination of Flutemetamol and structural MRI can provide
information that could be useful in understanding other (non-AD)
neuro-degenerative diseases and in identifying beta amyloid
formation; and - Flutemetamol scans can be categorized with automated software
suitable for use in clini‘/>”/>
