Radiopharmaceuts, so far unavailable in Portugal, allows the detection of tau protein aggregates in the brain.
Alzheimer It remains one of the great “headaches” for science, particularly in the health field.
This progressive neurodegenerative disease, which affects memory, thought and behavior, is the most common form of dementia. And it is still without healing.
But there are treatments that help relieve symptoms, or slow the progression of the disease, or to improve the quality of life of patients.
And there is also a lot of investigation around the time of detection.
In this sense, the University of Coimbra (UC) will start to produce a Radiopharmaceutical which allows a detection of tau protein aggregates in the brain (an indicator of disease manifestation, common to all patients).
This radiophoric, so far unavailable in Portugal, guarantees a most accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
The exams may be done in the PET (Positrons Tomography) tomography of the Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), which ensures the production of radiopharmaceutical drug through ICNAS PHARMA.
Innovative radiopharmaceutical turn o diagnosis Alzheimer’s disease through pet tests, Read in a statement sent to ZAP.
So far, the most common method was PET exam for detection of fibrillar beta and plates. However, although it is very useful in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, this exam does not correlate significantly with its clinical severity.
The new method of diagnosis allows complementary This examination with the detection of the presence of TAU protein aggregates.
“The detection of brain protein aggregates in the brain allows for a more accurate diagnosis and the staging of the disease, relating to its gravity and progression,” explains the director of ICNAS, Antero Abrunhosa.
This was the result of two years of investigation – which can open new perspectives for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, with a new generation of drugs aimed at reducing the accumulation of TAU protein and may contribute to improve the condition of patients with Alzheimer.
