Positron Emission Tomography News and Research

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Enhancing drug residence time may help develop better diagnostic, therapeutic agents

Research conducted at the Stony Brook University Institute for Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery that enhances the time a drug remains bound to its target, or residence time, may prove to be an important step in developing better diagnostic and therapeutic agents based partly on longer drug residence time.

17 Apr 2010

SNM continues to stress the need for Congress to implement long-term fix

On April 16, the President signed a bill granting temporary relief from looming cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates. Although a positive step, the medical community-along with millions of patients-continues to face significant threats to medical coverage for critical diagnostic imaging tests and therapeutics.

17 Apr 2010

Comparing effectiveness of PET and other molecular imaging techniques: SNM receives $48,000 AHRQ grant

SNM has been awarded a $48,000 grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to hold a conference to develop research on the comparative effectiveness of positron emission tomography (PET) and other molecular imaging techniques. The primary emphasis will be on the diagnosis and management of cancer patients, but both cardiology and neurology questions will also be addressed.

15 Apr 2010

Study investigates cerebral cortical response to biliary stimulation

The cortical response to esophageal, stomach or rectal stimulation has been studied using several different modalities including evoked potentials, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and positron emission tomography. However, there is no information concerning the cerebral cortical response to sensory signals that originate in the biliary tract in humans.

13 Apr 2010

GE Healthcare to present results of phase 2 study of flutemetamol at HAI Meeting

GE Healthcare will today present results from its multicenter phase 2 study of flutemetamol at the 4th annual Human Amyloid Imaging Meeting in Toronto, Canada. Flutemetamol is a positron emission tomography imaging agent in development by GE Healthcare, in the field of brain imaging.

12 Apr 2010

Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, PETNET Solutions collaborate in manufacture of Florbetapir F 18

Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. and PETNET Solutions, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens Medical Solutions, USA, Inc., marked the first dose shipped from a PETNET Solutions manufacturing facility as part of its collaboration with Avid on Florbetapir F 18 (18F-AV-45 or Florbetapir), Avid's molecular imaging agent for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of β-amyloid deposits in the brain, a key pathological component of Alzheimer's disease.

8 Apr 2010

Researchers commence Phase 2 research study to test CERE-110 for AD

Researchers at Banner Sun Health Research Institute are about to start the first Phase 2 research study to test a gene transfer agent for Alzheimer's disease. AD is a degenerative and ultimately fatal disorder affecting as many as five million Americans and that number is expected to soar to more than 11 million by 2040.

7 Apr 2010

Comprehensive cardiac health study provides superior results

Kenneth "Buddy" Conant hit some clothing stores for a little shopping spree recently, but it wasn't because he'd suddenly become enthralled with the latest fashions. The truth was, he was starting to resemble a kid wearing a grown man's clothes.

6 Apr 2010

Interactive workshop focuses on standardization to improve value and practicality of imaging biomarkers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, SNM and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) are hosting a joint two-topic workshop, April 13-14, 2010 at the Natcher Conference Center of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. The first day of the workshop will focus on general issues of standardization to control variability and inconsistency in methods of acquisition, interpretation and analysis of images in clinical trials.

2 Apr 2010

Study shows imaging technique useful for planning cardiac procedures

For a patient with heart failure, checking whether the heart could benefit from bypass surgery or a stent is critical to ensuring survival. One imaging technique, positron emission tomography (PET) with the imaging agent fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), may provide doctors with the information they need to make more informed treatment decisions, according to research published in the April issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM).

2 Apr 2010

Avid, Cardinal Health partner to detect Alzheimer's disease in living patients

Currently, Alzheimer's disease cannot be definitively diagnosed until after death, when a brain autopsy is performed on a patient and evidence of beta-amyloid plaque deposits in the brain – which are a characteristic pathology of the disease – can be found. Accurate diagnosis during life can be challenging, particularly in the early stages of Alzheimer's, when symptoms are mild and non-definitive. However, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cardinal Health are working together to change that.

26 Mar 2010

Utilization rates of noninvasive diagnostic imaging procedures for Medicare population vary regionally

The utilization rates of noninvasive diagnostic imaging procedures such as computed tomography scans, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography for the Medicare population vary substantially from region to region, with Atlanta, GA, having the highest utilization rate and Seattle, WA, having the lowest, according to a study in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

23 Mar 2010

Evaluating functional significance of blockages in cardiac blood vessels with formulas from fluid mechanics

Improved care for cardiac patients and people with coronary artery disease is the goal of a new pilot study being led by engineering and medical researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and the Cincinnati Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.

18 Mar 2010

Research confirms benefits of PET scan in early detection of Alzheimer's disease

Westside Medical Associates of Los Angeles and Westside Medical Imaging (WMI) of Beverly Hills announce the benefit of early positron emission tomography (PET) scanning to identify Alzheimer's in its early more treatable phase.

17 Mar 2010

Lantheus Medical Imaging announces preliminary data on flurpiridaz F 18 PET MPI agent

Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic imaging, today announced preliminary data on flurpiridaz F 18 (formerly known as BMS747158), its novel compound in development as a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) agent. The study of nine patients compared rest-stress flurpiridaz F 18 PET MPI, with rest-stress technetium-99m (Tc-99m) labeled single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for the detection and evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD).

16 Mar 2010

Differences in brain's reward system may underlie vulnerability to psychopathy: Study

Normal individuals who scored high on a measure of impulsive/antisocial traits display a hypersensitive brain reward system, according to a brain imaging study by researchers at Vanderbilt University. The findings provide the first evidence of differences in the brain's reward system that may underlie vulnerability to what's typically referred to as psychopathy.

16 Mar 2010

New data for BMS747158 to be featured in oral presentation at ACC Annual Scientific Session 2010

Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic imaging, today announced that new data for BMS747158, the company’s novel drug candidate in clinical development as a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) perfusion imaging agent, will be featured in an oral presentation at the American College of Cardiology 59th Annual Scientific Session taking place March 14-16, 2010 in Atlanta.

10 Mar 2010

25th Alzheimer's Disease International conference: Focus on new treatment developments

"What's new" in Alzheimer's disease medical treatments and diagnosis is the focus of the first day's plenary sessions at the 25th International Conference of Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI), March 11, 2010 at the Grand Hotel Palace, Thessaloniki, Greece.

4 Mar 2010

Blood glucose-lowering hormone FGF21 also activates brown adipose tissue metabolism

The blood glucose-lowering hormone FGF21 is also an activator of brown adipose tissue metabolism, according to the study featured on the cover of Cell Metabolism and directed by the lecturer Francesc Villarroya of the UB's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Faculty of Biology), the Institute of Biomedicine, and the Biomedical Research Networking Centre in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition.

3 Mar 2010

Growth rate among non-radiologists who own/lease PET equipment is on the rise: Study

Just as with computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the growth rate among non-radiologists who own or lease positron emission tomography (PET) equipment is also on the rise, contributing significantly to the ongoing issues surrounding self-referral and unnecessary utilization of imaging in the United States, according to a study published in the March issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org)

1 Mar 2010