There could soon be a new way of detecting Alzheimer’s disease in patients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week approved a radioactive dye, called Amyvid developed by Eli Lilly and Co. which could be used in an imaging test.
It could be the first time doctors could actually detect brain plaque tied to Alzheimer's disease, the company said.
Here’s how it works: the dye binds to clumps of a toxic protein called beta amyloid that accumulates in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's. Doctors can then see the plaque light up on a positron emission tomography, or PET, scan.
Patients with Alzheimer's usually have some brain plaque, so if none shows up in the test that would tell doctors to look for other causes of mental decline, such as depression or medications.
But the company warns that the test should not be used to diagnose Alzheimer’s only to rule it out.
About one in five patients who are diagnosed with Alzheimer's turn out not to have the disease after an autopsy.
"The approval of Amyvid offers physicians a tool that, in conjunction with other diagnostic evaluations, can provide information to help physicians evaluate their patients," the company said in a statement.
So far there is no cure for Alzheimer's. The disease affects more than 35 million people worldwide and gets worse with age.
All studies confirm that an active brain will remain healthy longer. Just like anything else in the body, exercise is needed to keep it performing at peak levels.
Some brain exercises
- Memory games
- Word puzzles
- Picture puzzles
- Video recall- home videos with family, repeating the names of each person in the video, including location and activities.