Researchers develop new imaging test to help detect Alzheimer’s with greater accuracy

Anchor/Reporter

PITTSBURGH —

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have developed a new brain imaging test that can detect Alzheimer’s disease with greater accuracy, offering hope for earlier treatment.

“In early detection, we know that it is very important to have new therapies that are coming and emerging because these treatments work much better in people who still do not have major symptoms,” said Dr. Tharick Pascoal, a neurologist at UPMC and one of the authors of an Alzheimer’s disease report featured in the worldwide medical journal The Lancet.

The study highlights the imaging test’s ability to detect tau protein — a biological marker closely tied to symptoms and future decline in Alzheimer’s patients — in the United States, Canada and Europe.

“If you find tau pathology in the brain of the patient, very likely these individuals are going to clinically progress, even develop dementia in the coming few months or years,” Pascoal said.

The research is part of a program that began in 2021 when the University of Pittsburgh was awarded more than $40 million to study tau protein.

“You can see here that with this technology, you can see all green and light blue, meaning that you cannot see any pathology there. Here, the same patient, two or three weeks after, with the new technology, you can see clearly — you can identify the presence,” Pascoal said.

Doctors say symptoms to watch for include memory loss, difficulty finding the right words and challenges in completing tasks with multiple steps.