A study using florbetaben shows that imaging data obtained before death by using this new tracer with positron emission tomography (PET) correlate well with autopsy findings.

"We've been really desperate to have a biomarker - whether it be spinal fluid, blood, magnetic resonance imaging, PET - something that would increase our accuracy, and this florbetaben study helps in that arena," said Marwan Sabbagh, MD, director of Banner Sun Health Research Institute.

Clinicians have struggled with diagnosing Alzheimer's disease with confidence while a patient is still alive, Dr. Sabbagh noted. "Products like these give us ammunition in our arsenal to make a diagnosis with more confidence," he said. "The concept of amyloid imaging is a game changer; it will allow physicians to use in vivo diagnostic tools in ways that we have never, ever, done before and I think it really is exciting."

The results of this new research demonstrate that florbetaben was "highly accurate," Sabbagh said. Full results of the study will be released at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

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