New study data presented at the Alzheimer’s Association Intl. Conference 2014 (AAIC) showed that a positive [18F]flutemetamol positron emission tomography (PET) scan for brain amyloid was a highly significant predictor of progression from amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) to probable Alzheimer’s disease (pAD). Those with positive [18F]flutemetamol scans were approximately 2.5 times more likely to convert to pAD than those with negative scans. The ability of positive [18F]flutemetamol PET images to identify aMCI patients at higher risk of progressing to AD could potentially allow for better patient evaluation and management. {read more here}

A new protocol nuclear cardiologists could use to improve identification of coronary plaques involves decreasing F-18 FDG myocardial uptake to reveal more coronary detail in cardiac PET/CT. A high-fat meal prior to fasting seems to do the trick, according to a study published July 31 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine .  {read more here}

PET images with the radiopharmaceuticals FDG and Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB) have shown a connection between sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and preclinical Alzheimer’s among the cognitively normal elderly, according to researchers in New York City. {read more here}

The quantitative imaging of myocardial blood flow (MBF) has been gaining momentum in recent years, as is the use of F-18 flurpiridaz, which has been shown to reveal a clear demarcation of disease in patients with CAD, according to a first-in-human quantitative imaging study published July 28 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine . {read more}