Neurology News Archive Featured in the Media JeffNEWS

Cancer and Alzheimer’s disease are among areas potentially benefiting from new techniques

As the Society of Nuclear Medicine convenes its 50th annual meeting June 19 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Mathew Thakur, Ph.D., is bullish on the organization’s and field’s future.

Dr. Thakur, professor of radiology and nuclear medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, will shortly become the group’s next president. As scientists continue to uncover the molecular details of the origin and development of disease, he says, nuclear medicine is poised to take on increasingly important roles in diagnostics and treatment.

Recent advances in radioactive “tracers,” says Dr. Thakur, have enabled physicians and scientists to better target molecular receptors sitting on the surface of cells, for example. This in turn may one day allow such techniques to detect a cluster of malignant cells long before they could be found with other methods.

“It’s only a matter of time before molecular probes, armed with a suitable radionuclide, will allow nuclear medicine physicians to down-regulate the mRNA expression and arrest the division of malignant cells,” says Dr. Thakur.

In addition, such probes might be able to detect the development of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease, perhaps eventually leading to new ways to stave off the mind-robbing effects of the disease. Similarly, detecting the beginning of blockages in coronary arteries could lead to improvements in prevention and treatment of heart disease.

Such new technology – termed “molecular imaging” – will enable nuclear medicine to play prominent roles in improvements in characterizing disease, early diagnosis, treatment and monitoring the effectiveness of therapy, Dr. Thakur notes.