Media Contact: Keith Herrell
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CINCINNATI—Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is a significant challenge for the medical profession, a challenge that will continue to increase as baby boomers age. But before Alzheimer’s can be treated, it must be accurately diagnosed—a challenge in itself.
Now, a radiopharmaceutical compound that was approved earlier this year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is enabling clinicians to make such a diagnosis with better accuracy, leading to earlier treatment and more informed counseling options for patients and their families. The test is offered at UC Health University Hospital’s nuclear medicine department, which is fully accredited by the American College of Radiology.
Amyvid, a radioactive dye manufactured by Avid Radiophramaceuticals, owned by Eli Lilly and Co., was approved by the FDA in April. The dye is injected intravenously in a procedure that takes about an hour, counting time spent waiting for the dye to reach the brain and time the patient spends on the examination table during the scan.
