Using florbetapir (Amyvid) imaging to see amyloid plaques in the brain altered treatment course, but it’s not clear whether that translates to clinical benefit, researchers reported here. {read more here}

Leaders of failed Alzheimer’s drug trial suggest a higher dose would work.  Further analyses of data from the halted SCarlet RoAD study of the anti-amyloid drug gantenerumab for Alzheimer’s disease suggest that the agent may have some benefit, especially at higher doses than those tested in the trial, researchers reported here. {read more here}

Detection of occult bone metastases can be critical in determining the management of patients with renal cell carcinoma, especially when standard of care imaging techniques test negative.  ¹⁸F-NaF PET/CT is significantly more sensitive at detecting renal cell carcinoma (RCC) skeletal metastases than conventional than bone scintigraphy or computed tomography (CT), according to an article published online ahead of print in the Annals of Oncology. {read more here}

Patients without heavy burdens of beta-amyloid plaques throughout their brains may still be vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease and related pathologies, especially when localized deposits interfere with critical brain networks, researchers said here.  For most such patients, the traditional explanation has been that they have some other non-amyloid disease process to account for their neuropathology. But some researchers have wondered whether relatively low levels of beta-amyloid could still be toxic in some way.  The advent of PET imaging for beta-amyloid plaques, using tracers such as Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB), has made it possible to identify and study such individuals while still alive.  {read more here}