Advanced Radiology to offer Amyvid for detection of AD

Aug 8 2012

Advanced Radiology, a division of RadNet, Inc., a national market leader providing high-quality, cost-effective diagnostic imaging services through a network of 237 fully-owned and operated outpatient imaging centers, announced it will be one of a small number of imaging centers in the U.S. to offer Amyvid™, a radioactive tracer used in positron emission tomography – computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging that helps to detect the quantity of beta-amyloid plaque in patient's brains. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Amyvid in April 2012.

Research has shown every patient with AD has increased levels of beta-amyloid plaque deposits in the brain at autopsy; patients that do not have identifiable beta-amyloid plaques in their brain at autopsy did not suffer from an AD diagnosis. A positive Amyvid scan indicates measurable beta-amyloid plaque build-up is present in the patient's brain. Beta-amyloid deposits do not always lead to an AD diagnosis – a positive Amyvid scan cannot diagnose a patient with AD.

"Amyvid is the first test that can effectively rule out Alzheimer's disease (AD) in patients who are being evaluated for cognitive impairment," Ethan Spiegler, M.D., chief of nuclear medicine at Advanced Radiology and board certified radiologist. "The ability to persuasively rule out AD can help physicians treat other causes of cognitive impairment and help families better plan for the future of their loved ones."