A clinical trial on a new tracer drug designed for earlier detection of Alzheimer's disease is under way by neurologist Dr. Ranjan Duara at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach.

The trial is to test florpiramine, a tracing element, to see if it can identify the amyloid brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's. Until now, the plaques could be seen only in autopsies.

Sponsored by Avid Radiopharmaceuticals of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, the trials will involve 150 patients in 10 hospitals across the country.

The florpiramine, chemically attached to a radioactive isotope, is injected into the blood stream and carried to the brain, where it lights up under a PET scan if it attaches to the amyloid plaques, Duara said.

Duara is seeking volunteers who have been diagnosed as terminal, with no more than six months to live, from any illness, not just Alzheimer's. If they are not cogent, next-of-kin may sign them up. They also must agree to an autopsy.

Volunteers may call the Wien Center at Mt. Sinai at 305-674-2543 and ask for Dr. Siudy Vasquez. The trial, which involves injection of the tracer and a PET scan, can be accomplished in a single visit.

Duara said he is seeking patients who want to further research Alzheimer's, and to have on record an official diagnosis after death.

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