New Imaging Techniques Hold Promise for Variety of Diseases

Advances could lead to better treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, Alzheimer's, ovarian cancer, studies say

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

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THURSDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- New ways of imaging the heart, the brain and the pelvis could lead to better diagnosis and treatment of illnesses such as heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and ovarian cancer.

That's the assessment of a series of studies presented this week at the Society for Nuclear Medicine's annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

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In one study, Dr. James H. Rudd, a cardiologist and scientist with the Imaging Sciences Laboratory at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues showed that using two imaging techniques -- multidetector computed tomography (CT) and imaging positron emission tomography (PET) -- along with N1177, a contrast agent that highlights plaques, provided imaging that was able to determine the amount of inflammation within atherosclerotic plaque and estimate the chances of plaque causing a future heart attack or stroke.

"The idea behind the project was to get an earlier diagnosis of atherosclerosis," Rudd said. "If we can detect these things earlier, then we can start effective therapy earlier and prevent the development of heart attacks and strokes."

Using both imaging techniques together in rabbits gave more information than using them separately, the researchers say. CT imaging helped determine the size of plaque, whether it was causing narrowing of the arteries and whether any inflammatory cells were involved.

The PET scan told the researchers whether the plaques were dangerous and whether they could lead to problems for patients. Using both techniques, they could see not only on the structure of plaque but also the underlying biology of the disease, which could guide and help monitor treatments.

In another study, researchers led by Dr. Cesar A. Santana, an assistant professor of radiology at Emory University, unveiled a new molecular imaging technique that gives a three-dimensional image of the heart, and could significantly improve the diagnosis of heart disease.

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