RadNet, an outpatient diagnostic imaging provider, has announced it will join the Imaging and Genetic Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease (ImaGene) study launched by the UCLA-Easton Center in 2008. The Jim Easton Consortium for Alzheimer’s Disease Drug Discovery and Biomarkers and the National Institute of Aging are sponsoring the study, with support provided by GE Healthcare.

The 6-year longitudinal study is investigating the potential interaction among genes, proteins, amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, and MRI brain imaging in aging and the prodromal stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Participants will receive a PET/CT scan at a RadNet facility using Vizamyl, a radioactive tracer approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013. Vizamyl will help researchers estimate beta amyloid neuritic plaque density in adult patients. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) has been linked to the build-up of beta amyloid in the brain.

RadNet previously partnered with GE Healthcare to evaluate Vizamyl prior to FDA approval.

“Beta amyloid radiotracers, such as Vizamyl, can help physicians and researchers to assess patients with cognitive impairment, including AD, and may help rule out AD as a diagnosis,” said Judith Rose, MD, RadNet medical director of PET/CT. “We are excited by the potential for these imaging techniques to help researchers better understand how Alzheimer’s disease develops. RadNet’s extensive experience with multiple new generation PET dementia imaging agents has helped advance some of the most promising AD research studies.”

For more information, visit RadNet.