For older people showing signs of cognitive impairment, doctors could one day prescribe a daily dose of chocolate. New research shows regular cocoa consumption in the elderly led to significantly better neuronal metabolic function and blood flow, and subsequently improved cognition, according to a study published August 7 in Neurology.

Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) has not been able to gain traction for a majority of solid tumor types, but new evidence could put Cu-64 labeled DOTA-cetuximab in line for difficult-to-treat colorectal tumors with specific genetic mutations, according to a study published July 19 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Angiogenesis is a hallmark of invasive cancer and antiangiogenesis therapies are gaining momentum, but some patients do not respond well. F-18 FLT may be the strongest contender out of three F-18 labeled PET agents used to evaluate early response to therapy, which aims to improve patient management and negate unnecessary treatments, according to research published August 1 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Just under 450 new therapies are in the works for a wide range of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s  and Parkinson’s disease, brain cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and many others, according to a 2013 report released Wednesday by PhRMA, a biopharmaceutical industry trade group.

Following two conferences held by the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) and a variety of stakeholders, a new focus on diagnostic PET tracers’ effect on patient management rather than direct health benefits is being presented for potential clinical trials, according to a review published August 1 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

The gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (BB2r) has become a popular target in prostate cancer imaging, but low local retention of tracers at the tumor site impedes imaging. Hypoxia-enhanced targeting of these receptors may be just what the doctor ordered for better tumor-tracer retention, according to a study published July 29th in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Novel molecular imaging detection of atherosclerosis is increasingly being presented to head off arterial damage and risk of cardiac events before they are found by more conventional methods, but FDGPET may not be the ideal solution, according to a study published July 25th in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

A fluorine-based PET agent on the workbench called 2-Deoxy-2-18F-fluoro-D-mannose (F-18 FDM) has been found to work similarly and potentially better than FDG for cancer imaging, especially of the brain, according to a study published July 10 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.