Copper isotopes can be used to detect the deposits that form in the brains of people living with-or at risk of developing-Alzheimer’s says new U.S. study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
A proof-of-concept study conducted in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease offers new evidence that copper isotopes can be used to detect the amyloid-beta protein deposits associated with Alzheimer’s Disease according to researchers at the University of Illinois.
The copper isotope used in the study lasts much longer than the carbon or fluorine isotopes currently approved for use in human subjects.
Access to longer-lasting diagnostic agents would make the process of diagnosing Alzheimer’s more accessible to people who live far from major medical centres. Any clinic with a PET scanner could have the agents shipped to it in time to use the compounds in brain scans of patients living nearby.
“More work must be done to enhance these compounds’ binding to the amyloid deposits, but the study offers compelling evidence that copper isotopes are a viable, longer-lasting alternative to current diagnostic agents”, said Liviu Mirica, a chemistry professor who led the new study.
