PET Scanning and Dementia: From Alzheimer's Disease to Mid-Life Forgetfulness
On September 15, 2004, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it had expanded Medicare coverage of positron emission tomography (PET) to include some Medicare beneficiaries with suspected Alzheimer's disease. According to Gary Small, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, "Expanding Medicare PET coverage for the assessment of suspected dementia will lead the way to helping many patients and their families. Accurate diagnosis is the key to providing the best medical care we can offer."
In the light of this new decision, physicians, patients and families are eager to learn more about how PET scanning can assist in the early diagnosis of dementia. Dr. Gary Small, author of the bestsellers, The Memory Bible, and The Memory Prescription, has been at the forefront of research on the use of PET scanning in Alzheimer's disease, related dementias, and mild age-related memory loss. He was one of the senior investigators on the largest, multi-center international study of PET in dementia, and has used the technique extensively in his clinical practice. In 2002, Scientific American magazine names him one of the world's top 50 innovators in science and technology for his discoveries on the use of PET scanning in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and age-related memory loss.
In his lectures, Dr. Small will highlight the current use of PET scanning in the diagnosis of dementia and age-related memory loss. Whether it is a professional or lay audience, he can fit the topic to the audience needs and cover all or some of the following points...
- Use of PET scanning in differentiating Alzheimer's disease from other dementias.
- Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment using PET.
- The influence of genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease on the PET scan pattern.
- How the PET scan can demonstrate not just brain cell communication, but the actual physical evidence of Alzheimer's disease -- plaques and tangles in the brain.
- Practical issues about insurance coverage for scanning.
- Benefits of early diagnosis of brain aging and the latest interventions, including medication and lifestyle choices.
- Startling new PET scan research showing that brain aging begins as early as our twenties.
- The clinical approach and strategy for dealing with memory impaired patients, from the "worried well" to the patient suffering from advanced dementia.