New, advanced imaging scans offer unprecedented hope for people with dementia
Helaina Semmler, MD, DABR, DABNM – Board-Certified, Subspecialized Radiologist
In the U.S. right now, nearly 7 million people are actively living with dementia. It’s a life-altering diagnosis that has had limited early detection and treatment options. South Jersey Radiology Associates now offers new imaging technology for early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease that is truly on the forefront of healthcare innovation.
“With our new imaging modalities, we are able to detect Alzheimer’s Disease early. We have changed the game on early intervention for patients,” says Helaina Semmler, MD, DABR, DABNM, a nuclear medicine radiologist leading the new service at SJRA. “Before this, we could look at a scan and see that parts of the brain weren’t working as well as other parts of the brain, but we couldn’t specifically determine that it was Alzheimer’s. Now we can.”
Researchers have found that the brains of Alzheimer’s patients have increased amounts of a specific protein, called amyloid plaques. That protein causes their dementia. The new scan at SJRA – one of only a few in South Jersey – is an imaging technique that can detect the protein. Technology like this has never existed before.
“Before this, we could look at a scan and see that parts of the brain weren’t working as well as other parts of the brain, but we couldn’t specifically determine that it was Alzheimer’s. Now we can.”
“The scan is called an Amyloid PET/CT (Neuraceq), and it can target amyloid plaques,” explains Dr. Semmler, “so we can see the buildup of this abnormal plaque and say, this isn’t from a stroke, this isn’t from Parkinson’s, this is Alzheimer’s. When the neurologist gets that information, the patient can start new, recently developed medications.”
The new medications, Leqembi and Kisunla, are both FDA-approved and have been shown to slow the progression of the amyloid plaque buildup, Dr. Semmler says. “It’s not going to cure Alzheimer’s Disease,” she adds, “but it can slow the progression of symptoms.”
SJRA started offering Neuraceq after their offices were certified and radiologists received additional training. “We wanted to make sure we were doing it right for our patients. We always take that very seriously,” says Dr. Semmler.
Patients who can benefit from the new scan should check the qualifications of the imaging provider offering the study. “This is new,” Dr. Semmler says, “so find out how many scans the facility has done. If they’ve only done a couple, they may not have the experience you need. Also, make sure the center is accredited by the American College of Radiology, and the nuclear medicine radiologists have been trained to properly read these scans.”
Patients who are eligible to receive the scan will have been experiencing memory loss that family members usually notice. “As we age,” Dr. Semmler says, “we all forget things. But this is your memory loss affecting your activities of daily living – you get lost, you forget who people are. That’s when family members will bring the patient to see a neurologist who can order the scan.”
“The Neuraceq scan looks like a CT scan, and it only takes a few minutes,” Dr. Semmler explains. “We give them an injection of a tracer that binds to the amyloid plaques in the brain. We can then see what areas of the brain are affected.”
Once a patient begins treatment with their neurologist, SJRA radiologists can monitor their progress with additional MRI scans. “If we detect Alzheimer’s Disease and a patient begins treatment,” Dr. Semmler says, “we can continue to follow up with them, monitor their progress and see if the treatment plan is helping.”
“We didn’t have access to any of these studies in the past,” Dr. Semmler adds. “As the approach towards these conditions change, we want to make sure our imaging capabilities align to best support our patients. We are very proud to be the offering Neuraceq and, hopefully, helping to identify patients who can really benefit from these new therapies.”
