alzheimers news-a new alzheimers brain scan

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-A NEW ALZHEIMERS BRAIN SCAN

the brain scans that you can get during the evaluation for alzheimers disease are

mri of the brain
i have had several of these
they have all been normal
most were done as part of alzheimers research studies
some i got the reports others i didnt
however if something shows up like a stroke or brain tumor or mass etc they notify you
as one gets a workup for memory loss one of the later tests to do is a mri scan of the brain to rule out treatable causes of memory loss or explanations of why one has memory loss like strokes old head injuries masses arterial abnormalities etc
insurances tend to pay for the mri of the brain

a glucose metabolism pet scan of the brain
iv glucose is given to you and wherever in the brain normal working brain cells are taking up glucose they will show on this brain scan
if you are further along with alzheimers disease this scan will show defects in the areas when the brain isnt working taking up the glucose
insurances might pay for this scan

an amyvid pet san of the brain
a radioactive material is given iv and is taken up in the brain where amyloid is deposited
if you have alzheimers disease this scan will be positive even if you arent having symptoms yet
i have had 3 of these done
i got the results of my last one that was positive for amyloid at the beginning of the aducanumab study i was in
this scan is not covered by health insurance


empr.com on tauvid

now just approved is a tau pet scan of the brain called tauvid
using tauvid given iv it identifies tau neurofibrillary tangles in the brain
where tau goes usually thats where the patient is having symptoms
this is not covered by health insurance either yet
i have not had one of these done
mine will probably be positive
the adni 3 study is doing these as part of their long term study
i opted not to do the adni3 study since i wanted to get into the treatment study with biogens aducanumab infusions 3 years ago

so the workup would go
mri of the brain to rule out treatable causes and also for the brain shrinkage that comes with alzheimers disease
amyvid pet scan for amyloid to more definitively diagnose alzheimers
then
maybe do a tauvid pet scan to define how extensive the tau spread is

the thinking is that amyloid accumulates first in the hippocampal area then spreads across the brain
the amyloid will show up on the amyvid pet scan before symptoms occur
later
maybe 5-10 years later the tau protein tangles will show up on the tauvid pet scan

you can also measure amyloid and tau in the spinal fluid and track its progression that way
that requires spinal taps

having had both the scan is easier and better and safer than the spinal tap

as the tau spreads first to the hippocampal area it then moves on
eg it may go to the frontal part of the brain first and you will see frontal lobe symptoms

we are getting closer to good diagnostic testing for alzheimers disease so a patient or family can know where their loved one is in the alzheimers disease process

these scans also improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of alzheimers

the organicgreen doctor