- Double Mastectomy May Offer No Survival Benefit to Women With Breast Cancer
- Toxic Lead Found in Cinnamon Product, FDA Says
- Certain Abbott Blood Sugar Monitors May Give Incorrect Readings
- Athletes Can Expect High Ozone, Pollen Counts for Paris Olympics
- Fake Oxycontin Pills Widespread and Potentially Deadly: Report
- Shingles Vaccine Could Lower Dementia Risk
- Your Odds for Accidental Gun Death Rise Greatly in Certain States
- Kids From Poorer Families Less Likely to Survive Cancer
- Tough Workouts Won’t Trigger Cardiac Arrest in Folks With Long QT Syndrome
- At-Home Colon Cancer Test Can Save Lives
Brain-Imaging Drug Approved for Alzheimer’s Detection
![](https://ladylively.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/mens-health1.jpg)
FRIDAY, Oct. 25Vizamyl (flutemetamol F 18 injection) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the brain to screen adults for signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
Dementia — characterized by deteriorating memory, judgment, language and motor skills — has been associated with brain accumulation of a protein called beta amyloid. Vizamyl, combined with a PET scan, can help doctors detect this protein, the FDA said Friday in a news release.
Vizamel, the second diagnostic drug approved for this purpose, was evaluated in clinical studies of 761 people. The injected drug is not meant to predict whether a person will go on to develop Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia, or to evaluate how people may respond to dementia therapies, the FDA warned.
Potential side effects of the drug include allergic-like reaction, becoming flushed, headache, a rise in blood pressure, nausea and dizziness, the agency said.
Vizamyl is produced for GE Healthcare by Medi-Physics Inc., based in Arlington Heights, Ill.
More information
The FDA has more about this approval.
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.