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Kirk Lawson/River Radiology
331.8268/klawson@riverradiology.com
Joan Schuman/Joan Schuman Assoc
845.338.2955/jsa@hvc.rr.com
Kingston, NY—November 8, 2004. The Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the expansion
of coverage for PET brain scans to individuals with suspected
Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias. “Our
hope is that the expanded Medicare coverage will result
in earlier diagnosis and treatment for patients with this
debilitating disease,” said Dr. David Hall, radiologist
and head of Nuclear Medicine at River Radiology, in Kingston,
NY.
Effective September 15, 2004, Medicare
is now covering PET for the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer’s
Disease in patients with a recent diagnosis of dementia
and a documented cognitive decline of at least 6 months.
The evaluation of the patient must be conducted by a physician
experienced in the diagnosis and assessment of dementia.
“Prior to PET, the clinical diagnosis
in early cases of suspected Alzheimer’s disease was
extremely difficult. Sometimes the condition is present
for months or years before the diagnosis is made. Since
current medical therapy is most effective early in the disease,
early diagnosis has become more important. In clinical trials,
PET has been shown to be approximately 85-90% accurate in
the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s—compared to about
60% accuracy for clinical evaluation alone,” said
Dr. Hall.
Alzheimer’s disease is an age-related and irreversible
brain disorder that results in memory loss of gradually
increasing severity. Eventually there are behavioral and
personality changes, and a general decline in intellectual
abilities. It is the most common cause of age-related dementia
representing approximately two-thirds of cases. By age 85,
approximately 30-40% of individuals show some signs of the
disorder.
PET technology detects changes in brain metabolism that
cannot be seen on CT or MRI scans. Patients undergoing PET
receive an injection of a short-lived radioisotope, and
are scanned one hour later. The scanning procedure is painless,
and takes about 30 minutes. In addition to Alzheimer’s
diagnosis, PET has been widely used for the detection and
evaluation of many different kinds of cancer. According
to Dr. Hall, River Radiology installed the first PET scanner
in the Hudson Valley, in 2002. River
Radiology received PET accreditation from the American
College of Radiology in September, 2004 and is the only
facility in Ulster County to receive such accreditation.
River Radiology is a full service
imaging center offering high field and open MRI, PET-CT,
CT, Ultrasound, Mammography, Bone Densitometry, X-ray, and
Nuclear Medicine. River Radiology is open seven days a week.
For information call 845.340.4500
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