Neuraceq will assist in diagnosis of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's patients
Photo: Release
Earlier this month, the Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (BraIns) began the official production of radiopharmaceutical Neuraceq. The substance, which has never been used in Brazil, will assist in the diagnosis of patients with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. The experimental production of the radiotracer, at the end of 2020, was very successful.
Dr. Jaderson da Costa, director of BraIns, was the host of the opening meeting of project Evaluation of structural and molecular neuroimaging in dementia syndromes, in early March. The virtual meeting kicked off the official the production of Neuraceq in the country and featured many partner institutions, such as UFPR / CETAC, DASA, Instituto de Pesquisa D’Or, Instituto Sírio-Libanês de Ensino e Pesquisa, United Health Group Brazil, UNICAMP and Albert Einstein Hospital.
For the production of the radiopharmaceutical, BraIns is using the synthesizer Synthera + , from IBA. After the project’s development period, the equipment will remain in Brazil as the project will continue, as a result of the collaboration between BraIns, Grupo R2IBF and the company Life Molecular Imaging, which develops the product. Grande do Sul / Photo: Reproduction: According to Louise Hartmann, coordinator of Radiopharmaceuticals Production Center of BraIns, the collaboration between the institutions was of paramount importance for this initiative: “With these efforts, we will be able to include a larger number of patients in the study in a short period of time. However, the distribution logistics will be a challenge, as the product must be applied on the same day it is produced, as this type of product cannot be stocked”.
Neuraceq identifies beta-amyloid plaques in patients’ brains (plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s). It is an assertive marker in the diagnosis of this disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions.
According to the Ministry of Health, 11.5% of people aged 65+ in Brazil are affected by the disease. It also affects 1.2 million Brazilians, according to information from the Brazilian Alzheimer’s Association. This number still tends to increase, as one of the effects of an aging population.
