This is from the Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc. web site...


http://www.guilfordpharm.com/products/dopascan.htm


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>                           DOPASCAN=AE Injection
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> DOPASCAN=AE Injection - in Phase II clinical trials
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> DOPASCAN=AE Injection is a novel investigational diagnostic test for
> Parkinson's Disease. Currently, there are no diagnostic tests
> available for Parkinson's Disease, and the diagnosis must be made from
> clinical observations. This is often quite difficult, and the disease
> is frequently confused with other conditions with Parkinsonian
> symptoms, such as essential tremor (about 30% of patients presenting
> with Parkinsonian symptoms do not have Parkinson's Disease).
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> An effective diagnostic test for Parkinson's Disease would enable
> early and accurate diagnosis of the disease. This would enable more
> appropriate decisions regarding drug therapy, and particularly earlier
> initiation of therapy with neuroprotective agents in confirmed cases
> of Parkinson's Disease. It would also help avoid unnecessary drug
> therapy in non-Parkinson's cases, thereby avoiding the costs and side
> effects of inappropriate drug use. DOPASCAN=AE Injection may also have
> potential to be used to monitor disease progression.
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> DOPASCAN=AE Injection is a radiopharmaceutical product. It is a tropane=

> derivative which is radiolabeled with I-123. It is known more commonly
> in the scientific literature as I-123 beta-CIT, RTI-55, or GPI-200.
> Imaging is accomplished with conventional SPECT equipment. Over 1000
> patients (approximately) worldwide have been imaged with DOPASCAN=AE.
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> The mechanism of action of DOPASCAN=AE Injection is to bind to the
> dopamine transporter on dopminergic nerve terminals in the striatum
> (caudate nucleus and putamen). Neurons in the substantia nigra send
> projections into the striatum, and decline in number in Parkinson's
> Disease. The uptake of the compound in the striatum is related to the
> number of surviving striatal dopaminergic nerve terminals. The
> resulting SPECT image provides an indication of the density of dopmine
> transporters in the caudate and putamen. Visually, the scan can be
> thought of as "lighting up" the striatum. Approximately 50% or more of
> the neurons are lost in the striatum before clinical symptoms appear.
> DOPASCAN=AE Injection can detect dopaminergic neuronal loss in the
> striatum at early stages of Parkinson's Disease.
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> Clinical trials to date have shown statistically significant results
> in distinguishing patients with Parkinson's Disease from normal
> controls. DOPASCAN=AE Injection is currently being studied in patients
> with other Parkinsonian syndromes (i.e. benign essential tremor;
> multi-system atrophy; and progressive supranuclear palsy).
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> A Phase IIB multi-center clinical trial with the Parkinson's Study
> Group (PSG) in 96 patients was conducted in 1996.
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> In December 1995, Guilford entered into a corporate collaboration with
> Daiichi Radioisotope Laboratories (DRL) for the commercialization of
> DOPASCAN=AE Injection, in which DRL received exclusive marketing rights=

> in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
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>       For a selection of Dopascan=AE Injection images, click here.
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>  For a selection of publications on Dopascan=AE Injection, click here.
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Kathy Barras
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