Four up-and-coming radiotracers to target areas of under-oxygenation, which indicates dying tissues and possible tumor proliferation, were compared and found to have similar biodistribution and uptake, according to a study published Feb. 3 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

DioGenix announced Jan. 27 that preliminary research validates the company’s genetic sequencing assay, MSPrecise. The screening tool would identify people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the very earliest stages of disease when symptoms are still subtle. 

OctreoPharm Sciences based in Berlin announced Jan. 29 that OPS202, an imaging agent for the detection of gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, received orphan drug designation from the European Medicines Agency.

Pain is unavoidable. It alerts sufferers to very real threats via injury and disease and is invaluable for that reason, but it is also vague and imprecise and sometimes just mysterious, especially in cases of chronic pain disorders. Stanford scientists sought to develop a biomarker that could visualize the molecular changes that signal pain generation and potentially use it to gauge wound healing and to assist in drug trials. 

Presurgical scanning for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer appears to lower incidence of unnecessary surgeries, according to an analysis published Jan. 21 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

The combination of higher estrogen levels and a diabetes diagnosis is associated with 14 times the risk of developing dementia for older women, according to a study published Jan. 29 in Neurology.

The makers of F-18 florbetapir, also known as Amyvid, declared an 2 percent drop in global revenues in the final quarter of 2013 to just over $5.8 billion, though revenues for the full year reflected a 2 percent increase to slightly more than $23.1 billion.

Higher serum levels of pesticides could be contributing to a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published online Jan. 27 in JAMA Neurology.