Amyloid PET test is complementary to the blood test recently launched by the network and is available in diagnostic medicine brands in SP and RJ

São Paulo, June 29, 2022 –  Seeking to bring more tools for the diagnosis and improve the clinical management of Alzheimer’s disease, Dasa, the largest integrated health network in Brazil, has just made available another test for the detection of the disease in its laboratories . Florbetaben amyloid PET (PET-CT with Florbetaben- ¹⁸ F) helps in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s by measuring the burden of amyloid plaque in the brain by reading the radiopharmaceutical that binds to the beta-amyloid protein present in the brain of patients with the disease .

Many dementias and neurodegenerative diseases resemble Alzheimer’s disease. The presence of beta-amyloid plaques (Aβ) are more accurate markers to confirm Alzheimer’s, and the new test, being more specific, can more effectively identify the protein and close the diagnosis, along with other clinical management. These markers have been approved by regulatory agencies such as the FDA in the United States and other countries as effective for qualitative assessments of beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaque density.

According to Dasa’s General Director of Medical and Integrated Care, Leonardo Vedolin, PET amyloid is a complement to the blood test for Alzheimer’s diagnosis recently launched by Dasa. Like the latter, amyloid PET is recommended for people with mild cognitive impairment or suspected dementia. “The doctor may recommend performing PET in cases where the blood test identifies a dosage of ABeta 42 and ABeta 40 proteins. If the ratio between the two is less than 0.160, this suggests an above normal risk of having Alzheimer’s,” he explains.

Data from the Ministry of Health in 2020 indicate that about 1.2 million Brazilians have Alzheimer’s, most of them still undiagnosed. “Early diagnosis is essential because it makes it possible to slow down the progression of the disease and guarantee more control over the symptoms, guaranteeing a better quality of life for the patient and the family”, recalls Vedolin.

The new complementary test for Alzheimer’s Disease is initially available at Dasa’s diagnostic medicine laboratories: Alta (SP and RJ), Delboni (SP) and CDPI (RJ).Reference

1. Ministry of Health. “9/21 – World Alzheimer’s Day and National Alzheimer’s Awareness Day”. Available at:  https://bvsms.saude.gov.br/21-9-dia-mundial-da-doenca-de-alzheimer-e-dia-nacional-de-conscientizacao-da-doenca-de-alzheimer . Accessed on: May 11, 2022.

About Dasa

Dasa is the largest integrated health network in Brazil. It is part of the lives of more than 20 million people a year, with high technology, intuitive experience and an attitude ahead of time. With more than 50,000 employees and 250,000 partner doctors, it exists to be the health that people want and that the world needs, being present at every stage of care.

He believes that to take care you always have to take care of yourself. Therefore, it looks at health management in a preventive, predictive and personalized way. It integrates diagnostic medicine, hospitals, genomics, oncology, care coordination, emergency care, telemedicine, clinical research and science. In all, it has 15 reference hospitals (considering its own network, inorganic growth and deals that are still under regulatory approval), and more than 59 brands between diagnostic medicine and hospitals, distributed in more than 980 units in Brazil.

Dasa guarantees agile, uncomplicated and frictionless navigation in the healthcare journey, both for patients and doctors, through its digital health management platform, Nav. In addition, it offers integrated and innovative corporate health solutions through Dasa Empresas.

We are Dasa and we are for life. For more information, visit:  www.dasa.com.br

Bowler
Márcio Derbli