Posted under Blog on December 12th, 2011 by Editorial Team / No Comments

Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) are both two forms of dementia sharing similar symptoms. This means that telling the two apart is a real challenge. 

In a recent study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, so-called PIB markers were used along with a brain PET scan to detect amyloid in the brain. Amyloid is the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease but completely unrelated to FTLD and usually detection is only possible after death. This led to an increased ability to differentiate between the two dementias.

"While widespread use of PIB PET scans isn't available at this time, similar amyloid markers are being developed for clinical use, and these findings support a role for amyloid imaging in correctly diagnosing Alzheimer's disease versus FTLD," said Rabinovici, the study’s author.

New research is vital and continuously being developed to detect Alzheimer’s disease and differentiate it from other forms of dementia. This will not only allow doctors to provide patients with an accurate diagnosis but will also aid research into treatments and cures.

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Date of prep. January 2015                     RXUKPDGL00004t 

Tags: Alzheimer's, amyloid, dementia, memory loss, PET scan