Funding Approved for Major New Study on the Value of PET Scans for Alzheimer's Disease

A new four-year trial with an estimated budget of USD 100 million has been announced by the US Alzheimer's Association (Chicago, IL, USA), and the American College of Radiology (ACR; Reston, VA, USA).

The Imaging Dementia—Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS) study will try to assess the value of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease, and other dementia-related disorders using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) brain scans. A total of 18,488 people aged 65 and older, from 200 sites in the US, will take part in the study.

The study will investigate the impact of amyloid PET on short-term patient management by comparing planned Alzheimer's disease management before PET and actual management after PET. The second aim of the study is to compare medical outcomes after 1 year for patients enrolled in the study, with a matched control group of patients who have never had amyloid PET imaging.

Gil D. Rabinovici, MD, IDEAS study chair, said, "We believe the study will show that, in diagnostically uncertain cases, knowledge of amyloid status will lead to significant changes in patient management—such as earlier counseling and prescription of more appropriate drugs—that will translate into improved long-term outcomes."

Related Links:
American College of Radiology
US Alzheimer's Association