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This is from the Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc. web site... http://www.guilfordpharm.com/products/dopascan.htm > Return to Product Portfolio, Neurology Product Portfolio or Main menu > = > DOPASCAN=AE Injection > = > DOPASCAN=AE Injection - in Phase II clinical trials > = > 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). > = > 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. > = > 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. > = > 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. > = > 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). > = > A Phase IIB multi-center clinical trial with the Parkinson's Study > Group (PSG) in 96 patients was conducted in 1996. > = > 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. > = > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For a selection of Dopascan=AE Injection images, click here. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For a selection of publications on Dopascan=AE Injection, click here. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Return to Product Portfolio List or Main menu Kathy Barras [log in to unmask]