On 2 April, scientists from the Imaging Dementia-Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS) study published an article on a brain imaging technique to identify amyloid plaques (clumped proteins that are involved in the death of brain cells) and its implications for clinical management. The study was published in the journal JAMA and involved both people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and people with dementia (in whom the cause of the syndrome were uncertain).
This large-scale multicentre study involved 11.409 participants who underwent brain scans using a specific technique known as the “amyloid positron emission tomography - PET”. The scans were performed in order to clarify the cause of cognitive impairment (etiology) and subsequently inform patient management (Alzheimer’s disease drug therapy, other drug therapy; or counselling about safety and future planning).
Out of the 11.409 participants who completed the study procedures, the scans showed positive amyloid PET results for 3.871 people with a form of MCI and 3.154 with dementia. Overall, the brain scans led to changes in the etiologic diagnosis in 4061 cases (change from Alzheimer’s disease to non-Alzheimer’s disease in 2860 cases as well as change from non-Alzheimer’s disease to Alzheimer’s disease in 1201 cases).
The researchers then analysed whether the subsequent adaptation of care management (due to the corrected diagnosis) occurred in a clinically meaningful proportion of participants (change in at least 30% of the participants). These analyses were administered separately for the subgroup of people with MCI and for the subgroup of people with dementia.
The results showed that the change occurred in a much larger number of participants than anticipated. The authors reported that the composite clinical management changed in 60,2% of the participants with MCI and in 63,5% of the participants with dementia, underlining the value of PET imaging to improve clinical management.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2729371
