In what is becoming a trend among anti-amyloid therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, bapineuzumab appeared to clear amyloid plaques from the brains of Alzheimer’s patients even though it provided no clinical benefits in early trials, researchers reported.  In a subanalysis of two phase III bapineuzumab trials, patients on the drug had a reduction in amyloid plaques on PET imaging compared with those on placebo, Enchi Liu, PhD, of Johnson & Johnson, reported online in Neurology. {read more here}

A predictive scoring system that combines both echocardiography and clinical data can reliably estimate three-year death rates in critical care unit (CCU) patients, according to research from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The model is built on the fact that more heart patients are dying from noncardiovascular diseases. {read more here}

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking into the risk for brain deposits with repeated use of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) for MRI, the agency said today in a drug safety communication. {read more here}

Insulin resistance was associated with lower regional cerebral glucose metabolism in an imaging study of participants at risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).  All of the participants underwent a series of neuropsychological tests that mapped onto six cognitive factors. The most recent test scores before the imaging were used. Glucose and insulin levels were measured after a 12-hour fast, and all participants also underwent magnetic resonance imaging and FDG-PET. {read more here}