A STEP FORWARD AN EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

 

 

 

Nabuyuky Okamura and colleagues (Styrylbenzoxazole derivatives for in vivo imaging of amyloid plaques in the brain. J. Neurosci. 24, 2535-2541, 2004) found a potential way to detect early changes in patient’s brain. The initial stages of Alzheimer’s disease are characterized by extensive deposition of diffuse plaques and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles in the entorhinal cortex. Okamura’s group demonstrates that a compound named BF-168 selectively recognized senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, the two identification marks of the disease. Since BF-168 can permeate blood-brain barrier, the authors tested whether it could be used for in vivo imaging of amyloid deposit in the brain.

Positive results encourage further work to demonstrate safety and efficacy of BF-168 in PET or SPECT.

 

                                                                                            BM&L-May 2004