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PET used to diagnose Alzheimer's

PAMPLONA, Spain, June 14 (UPI) -- Researchers in Spain say that using imaging technology patients with mild cognitive impairment can be identified at early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

For more than 17 months, a sample of 299 patients was studied, by researchers of the University of Navarra.

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Of these, 103 suffered some mild cognitive impairment; 80 volunteered subjective complaints regarding memory; and 54 individuals were used as a control group, made up of volunteers from the Navarre Blood Donors' Association.

Study leader Lluis Samaranch says the study supports the theory that the majority of patients with mild cognitive impairment are at an intermediate stage which will end up in an acute condition, however, not all cases with mild impairment evolve to this condition.

Besides neuropsychological markers involved, the most significant find was the discovery of Positron Emission Tomography, or PET, as a highly efficacious technique for measuring the risk of evolving mild cognitive impairment.

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