Chonnam National University Hospital Achieves 3,000 Cases of Accurate Alzheimer's Diagnosis with 'Amyloid Testing'

First Regional Implementation of Nuclear Medicine in 2015... Highest Number of Tests Except Seoul

Chonnam National University Hospital announced on the 28th that its Department of Nuclear Medicine has achieved 3,000 amyloid PET scans, the most accurate diagnostic test for Alzheimer's disease.

The amyloid PET scan was first performed by the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Chonnam National University Hospital in October 2015, the first in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, and it is the highest number of scans conducted outside of Seoul.

Since Alzheimer's disease has an increasing incidence with age, early diagnosis and treatment are very important.

Accordingly, the amyloid PET scan is the most accurate early diagnostic test currently available. It involves staining the beta-amyloid protein, the main causative substance of Alzheimer's disease, and then using positron emission tomography (PET) to image the inside of the brain to confirm the presence of amyloid protein.

Through this, medical staff can detect Alzheimer's disease early and utilize the results for treatment.

In particular, Chonnam National University Hospital has improved accessibility to amyloid PET scans by introducing the Cyclotron Room, a molecular imaging drug development center, and obtaining GMP certification for domestic pharmaceutical production standards, enabling the production of radiopharmaceuticals with product approval and the use of self-produced radiopharmaceuticals.

The Department of Neurology at Chonnam National University Hospital actively uses amyloid PET scans to conduct many clinical studies aimed at early diagnosis of dementia and appropriate treatment.

Furthermore, the demand for amyloid PET scans is increasing at Chosun University Hospital and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology for research purposes, such as the creation of a Korean amyloid standard brain map led by the Gwangju Dementia Cohort Research Group and big data analysis by the National Dementia Research Group.

Jim Ja-hye, head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine, stated, “The amyloid PET radiopharmaceuticals produced at the Chonnam National University Hospital GMP facility Cyclotron Room, commissioned by Dukem Bio Co., Ltd., are supplied not only to the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions but also to hospitals in the Chungcheong and Gyeongsang provinces.” He added, “With the future use of FDA-approved dementia treatments, the demand for amyloid PET scans is expected to increase further.”