Hi Judith and all, Is the Aug. 2000 European test the same as the MGH '98 test? New Imaging Agent Found for Early Diagnosis and Research of Parkinson's Disease BOSTON--April 30, 1998--Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a new imaging agent for Parkinson's disease.... http://www.hms.harvard.edu/news/releases/498parkinson.html I had this one in my bookmarks.... Cheers, gotta go t'work ........... murray On 7 Sep 2000, at 8:33, Judith Richards wrote: > I had this in my files... Judith > ------ > Company to Launch Test for Parkinson's in Europe > By Richard Woodman > > LONDON, August 3, 2000 (Reuters Health) - The world's first diagnostic > test for Parkinson's disease has won European marketing approval and > will be launched in the autumn, Nycomed Amersham announced. > > The new test, DaTSCAN, is expected to cost around 500 to 600 but should > transform the present situation where up to 25% of patients diagnosed as > suffering from Parkinson's actually have Essential Tremor, company > sources said. > > The iodine-labelled agent binds to the dopamine transporters on the > neurons in the brain. The number of these neurons, and therefore the > number of dopamine transporters, is significantly reduced in Parkinson's > disease. > > "There are around 500,000 Parkinson's disease sufferers across Europe, > with 60,000 new cases diagnosed every year, "the company said in a news > release. "DaTSCAN is the world's first diagnostic agent approved for use > in identification of Parkinson's. Currently the only objective test for > Parkinson's disease is performed post mortem." > > John Padfield, chief executive of the imaging division, said: "We have > managed to bring a truly unique product to the market that will satisfy > unmet medical needs and benefit thousands of patients who may be > suffering from Parkinson's Disease." > > A company spokeswoman told Reuters Health that in a clinical trial > involving 250 patients, the results of the scan were different to the > clinical diagnosis in ten cases. "In five of those cases, the clinicians > changed their diagnosis. In five further cases, they decided to continue > monitoring the patient." > Copyright © 2000 Reuters Limited. > > > -- > Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada > [log in to unmask] > Today’s Research... > Tomorrow’s Cure [log in to unmask]