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Technology may someday be able to illuminate the plaque in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease and determine the impact of a drug to arrest the disease.

Alzheimer's, a progressive and eventually fatal brain disease, is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. An estimated 10 million baby boomers are expected to develop Alzheimer's in their lifetime, amounting to 7.7 million Americans with the disease by 2030 and 11 million to 15 million by 2050.

Alzheimer's disease is marked by the presence of a protein, beta-amyloid, that builds up between nerve cells in the brain and is believed to block communication between the cells and cause problems with memory, thinking and behavior. The only definitive way to know if that protein is in the brain requires looking at brain tissue, and that can be done only at an autopsy.

By using "tracer" chemicals that bond to markers for specific diseases and high-tech scanners that produce 3-D images, the Adler Institute for Advanced Imaging is able to more accurately pinpoint cancerous tumors in patients.

That same technology may someday be able to illuminate the plaque in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease and determine the impact of a drug to arrest the disease, according to Dr. Lee Adler, the Medical Director and founder of The Adler Institute, a pioneer in PET, PET/CT and 3-D coronary artery imaging and former chief of nuclear medicine at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Comparing the technology to a satellite view of weather patterns imposed on a map of the United States to show where storms will occur, Adler said the CT image - a precise display of the body's anatomy - is combined with the PET image that shows abnormal activity to allow doctors to see exactly where, for example, a tumor is located in the body.

The apparent advantage, according to Adler's wife, Karel D. Kovnat, Ph.D., who serves as the CEO and Director of research at the Adler Institute, is that you're able to get a better diagnosis.

An FDA-approved, low-dose radioactive glucose-analog agent that cancers take up make the tumors light up in a PET scan, which when combined with the CT scan help pinpoint those tumors, Adler said. Subsequent scans with the agent can help determine the effectiveness of treatment.

In one study, that same agent is being used to see if it can help differentiate between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemperal dementia, he said. The research involves testing new imaging agents, given intravenously, that would be specifically attracted to abnormal beta-amyloid and show up on a scan.

"It would be useful for diagnosis and also to determine (the ability of) future therapies that hope to wash away the beta-amyloid and cleanse the brain," Adler said.

"That's the promise," Kovnat said. The two arms of the research are being done simultaneously; imaging agents are in the process of seeking approval by the Food and Drug Administration and drugs to treat the disease are in the FDA pipeline, she said.

In the past, a drug would be tried and the results evaluated over a number of years, she said. "This would work more quickly and hopefully speed drug development. It's all happening now; it's exciting to be a part of this."

Kovnat estimated it would be six months to a year before trials on a drug to stop Alzheimer's will begin. "The first goal is to stop it; to reverse it would be a wonderful thing," she said.

The Adler Institute for Advanced Imaging is located at The Pavilion, 261 Old York Road, Suite 106, Jenkintown.

Source: Times Chronicle Glenside News