WEDNESDAY, Sept. 18 (HealthDay News) — Newly developed fluorescent compounds may help doctors track Alzheimer’s disease as it advances in living patients, a new study reveals.
Tests showed that these compounds highlighted so-called tau protein clusters on PET scans of the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
The study was published in the Sept. 18 issue of the journal Neuron.
In the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients, tau proteins clump together and become tangled. These tau tangles are an important marker of brain deterioration in people with the disease. Until now, it was difficult to monitor tau tangles while patients are still alive.
The Alois Alzheimer Foundation 